Mystery of the Meitantei
by crimsonskyr
Summary: "Shinichi-san you sound just like Conan-kun." Shinichi might be back finally but he's facing a very familiar problem. This time around it's the Detective Boys who are suspicious of this uncannily familiar detective. "You know, the Detective Boys are never going to be the same without their Conan-kun. But maybe with Shinichi-niisan around it might not be all that different."
1. Get Well Gifts

**Chapter 1: Get Well Gifts**

* * *

"Geez, why do we have to go visit this detective guy again? I wanna go play soccer in the park today like we were supposed to," Kojima Genta grumbled as he trudged along, kicking a soccer ball in front of him rather haphazardly through the somewhat narrow halls of Beika General Hospital. He was causing the other hospital guests to have to stumble out of the way before giving him disapproving looks, which he mostly ignored.

His fellow, recently turned third-grader friends and members of the Detective Boys, Yoshida Ayumi, Tsubaraya Mitsuhiko, and Haibara Ai, were following along right behind him. Of course, they were accompanied by Professor Agasa Hiroshi—who was hastily apologizing to the other hospital guests on Genta's behalf, while trying to keep up with the young children.

After hitting a crash cart that was being wheeled down the hall by a nurse and getting reprimanded by said nurse and the professor when he finally caught up with the children, Genta begrudgingly picked up the ball and agreed to carry it under his arm the rest of the way.

Although it was midday on a sunny Saturday, the Detective Boys were being led by Professor Agasa down the third floor hall of Beika General Hospital to visit the recently returned, yet injured high-school detective, Kudou Shinichi. Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko had been planning to spend the day at Beika Park and decided to stop by the professor's house to invite Haibara along but were instead dragged along by Haibara and the professor to the hospital. Even though the children were not that familiar with Shinichi, they knew he was a friend and neighbor of Professor Agasa and assumed Haibara was just going along with him instead of staying home alone.

"Genta-kun! Shinichi-oniisan is Ran-oneesan's boyfriend and Conan-kun's relative. We should be nice and visit him. We have all day to go play," Ayumi berated the stubborn boy next to her, swiping the small bouquet of flowers, which she picked up from a floral shop on the way there, in his direction. "You'll probably make all the goals yourself and get bored quickly anyway. Plus without Conan-kun it won't be the same," she mumbled the last part wistfully.

"Now, now Ayumi-kun, Conan-kun wouldn't want you to feel sad while playing soccer, would he? You'll ruin the mood of his favorite sport if you don't have fun and play to the best of your ability," Agasa tried consoling the pouting little girl. He noticed Ayumi hadn't been as lively in the past few weeks since Conan-kun had "left to go to America with his parents."

She looked up at the professor, smiled brightly, and nodded—her mood seemed to have quickly improved. "Yep, you're right professor! But he still made playing soccer a lot more fun. And it was funny whenever he beat Genta-kun. Genta-kun always gets so grumpy."

"Oi! I do not!" Genta didn't find it funny. And when Mitsuhiko nodded and laughed in agreement with Ayumi, he nudged the skinny boy rather roughly in the ribs causing him to cough and stumble backwards into the professor who had stopped by a hospital room door.

To the side of the door hung a nameplate designating the room to currently yet temporarily belong to Kudou Shinichi. Before knocking he addressed the children, "This is Shinichi-kun's room, children. Now, I'm not sure how Shinichi-kun is feeling, so I want you all to be on your best behavior. Understood?"

"_Hai_!" The three children chorused automatically.

* * *

"_Mou_, Shinichi you're not supposed to use your cell phone in the hospital!" Mouri Ran, hands on her hips, scolded the teen lying on the bed who was listening intently to his phone and trying to tune her out. "Shinichi!"

"Sorry, can you hold on for a second Jodie-sensei," he said hastily into the receiver and then held the phone away from his face to address the nagging girl hovering over him. "Shh! Ran, I can't hear Jodie-sensei. Plus the doctor said it was fine to use my phone in the room. You just can't use them in the restricted areas." He returned his attention to his phone sticking a finger in his other ear and apologized to Jodie. He tried not to notice Ran glaring daggers at him. It _was_ an important phone call with an FBI agent after all.

Ran sighed, her shoulders sagging in surrender and her hands lowered to hang loosely by her sides. A few soft knocks on the door caught her attention and she turned around to answer the door. "Ah, Professor Agasa … and the Detective Boys! I didn't know you were coming today," she greeted warmly but in surprise. She smiled kindly and stepped aside, beckoning them all to come in.

Agasa smiled and chuckled a bit. "Excuse us for dropping by unexpectedly. Yuusaku-kun called and told me Shinichi-kun was allowed visitors finally, but it looks like you've been allowed to stay with him, eh?" He stepped into the room with the children following in behind and shut the door. He then lifted a navy blue duffle bag from his shoulder and placed it onto a counter along the wall to his side.

"I thought Shinichi-kun might need something to keep him occupied while he was here so I stopped by his house to pick up a few things. Ai-kun and I were heading out when we ran into the children. Ayumi-kun insisted on tagging along with Ai-kun and of course the boys followed as well."

"Ayumi wanted to visit Shinichi-oniisan too. We brought him presents so he can get better soon!" Ayumi explained enthusiastically holding up the flowers she had been carrying proudly. She looked past Ran to the bed where Shinichi was still talking animatedly on his cell phone with his other ear still covered. He hadn't noticed the new arrivals, or so it seemed.

Ran smiled appreciatively, "Oh, Ayumi-chan, that was very thoughtful of you. Why don't you give them to Shinichi yourself?"

She turned to get Shinichi's attention, scowling when she noticed he was still oblivious to his company. Either that or he was just acting like he didn't know he had guests so that way he could finish up his conversation in peace. She wouldn't put it past him since nothing ever eluded his observations. She stomped over, pulling his hand away from his head. "_Mou_, Shinichi, come on, look you have visitors."

"…Yes… Yes… Alright, if you need to anything else just call me back…" Whatever Jodie must have said to Shinichi after that must have been awfully embarrassing as Ran took note of how his eyes widened and a light red tinted his cheeks. "Give me a break Jodie-sensei!... Ah, yeah I'll tell her… Okay, bye." Ending the call, he dropped his old, red flip-phone heedlessly onto the bed and then brushed a hand through his hair in mild agitation. Despite the seriousness of the majority of the conversation, Shinichi's flustered look at the end made Ran giggle.

Sometime during the Operation, Shinichi had become paranoid that his new smartphone had been bugged when it started producing static during all his calls. Of course that had started right after he accidentally left it at Poirot's a few days before. With Bourbon around at the time, it was only logical, right? Panicked, he switched back to his old flip-phone with the soccer ball charm. He didn't find out until much later, when he had a chance to give it to Agasa to check, that it was only a loose wire's fault. Shinichi blamed Hattori for making him drop it that one time and causing him all that unnecessary worry. Although he hadn't had a chance to switch back to his new phone, he was actually supposed to get it today from Agasa with some other belongings for his stay at the hospital.

Finally acknowledging Ran, Shinichi grinned sheepishly and relayed Jodie's message. "Jodie-sensei says hello." However Ran had a feeling that that was the highly abridged version of what her old English teacher, Jodie Saintemillion—or recently she learned, actually Jodie Starling of the American FBI—really had to say knowing it had evoked such a reaction from the detective.

He then turned his head to observe what was going on in the rest of the room, spotting the professor and Haibara just inside the doorway, Ayumi next to Ran beside the bed, and the two remaining Detective Boys casually approaching behind the girls and looking at him in mild curiosity. He was actually rather surprised to see the children accompanying the professor and Haibara—whom he had been expecting for a post-antidote checkup as well.

Feigning ignorance he greeted the children, "Yo kids, you're friends with the kid in glasses, right? The Detective Boys if I recall."

Ayumi was the one to speak up, "Yup! Conan-kun was always talking about you Shinichi-oniisan, and Ran-oneesan too sometimes!"

Shinichi smiled fondly, laughing on the inside at the irony of him talking about himself and her innocence regarding the whole charade of course. "Eh? Really? I hope they said good things about me," he asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly and glancing over to Ran who was blushing before returning his gaze to Ayumi.

"Of course! Conan-kun was always explaining how he learned everything from you." She leaned closer to him and whispered sheepishly, "Ah, but sometimes Ran-oneesan was complaining and calling you mean things like 'deduction freak' and 'mystery geek.'" Although she seemed guilty for betraying Ran by the way she was trying to keep everyone else from overhearing, Shinichi saw how her lips twitched as she tried not to giggle. "I got you these to help you feel better. I hope you like them." She timidly raised the flowers.

He took them gently from her and placed a hand on top of her head. "Thank you _ojou-san_… Ayumi-chan right?"

"Mhm! Mitsuhiko-kun and Genta-kun brought you something too, right?" She turned to look at the other boys so Shinichi removed his hand and glanced past the girls to look at them as well.

_Ayumi must have nagged them until they finally agreed,_ he thought rolling his eyes. _Or did I forget my birthday again? What was the date today? Ah, no, it's not for a few weeks still. I know Ran wouldn't have let me forget as usual._ So he decided it must have been his first reasoning. He couldn't imagine Mitsuhiko or especially Genta getting him anything otherwise. It was awfully thoughtful of them either way; they were just kids after all and they didn't really know him as Shinichi.

Mitsuhiko stepped forward after Ayumi. "Hello Shinichi-san. I hope you are doing well. I thought you might like the gift I was able to bring you. Conan-kun was quite eager to get this and he was talking about this often during the week before he left for America. Since you're a great detective I thought you would like it too. Please accept this."

Mitsuhiko was being as polite as ever but he wasn't as shy as he used to be when Conan first met him. Shinichi actually found it hilarious how much different the boy spoke when talking to his elders. He almost laughed out loud but he didn't want to disconcert the boy when he was just trying to be respectful so he did his best to hold it in. Another reason not to laugh was that he'd bet that Ran would smack him over the head if he really did.

Noticing the brand new book that the skinny boy was holding out to him, Shinichi couldn't help the huge grin that appeared on his face. "Awesome! I couldn't wait to read this." He accepted the paperback mystery novel from Mitsuhiko a little less gently than he should have and enthusiastically traced over the cover and then flipped it over to the back, skimming the summary. "Did you know the author had been retired for eleven years before he decided to start writing again? The reviews say it's one of his best works yet. Even my dad got to read it before me, you know being a famous novelist and all… And the main character—"

Mitsuhiko and the others started laughing, cutting off Shinichi's excited rave. They shared a knowing look with each other that went over even the great detective's head. In response to his questioning expression Mitsuhiko was kind enough to enlighten him. "Shinichi-san, you sound just like Conan-kun."

"Eh?!" Shinichi felt a sudden, familiar jolt of uneasiness that he used to feel whenever Ran compared Conan to Shinichi. It passed quickly though. What did he have to fear from the comparison anyway? It wasn't even remotely the same situation.

Ran must have found the comparison amusing though, because he caught her muffle some laughter behind her hand and giving him a knowing look. He would have scowled at her too if he didn't get distracted by the beautiful smile she wore when she lowered her hand from her face.

The three's laughter died down and Mitsuhiko decided to elaborate. "He couldn't stop talking about that book like I said. We haven't even read the book but we could probably tell you everything that you were going to say just now."

Now that his unexpected anxiety was dismissed, he casually embraced the younger boy's mention of his similarities to Conan and laughed it off. "Ah, well of course, I told him about the new book myself awhile ago. I can't imagine him not being excited about it. He sure took after me liking mysteries. And from what I've heard, it seems like you guys caught it too."

He scratched his cheek and grinned a little nervously. His reasoning sounded unconvincing to himself but he doubted the kids wouldn't believe him. "Well, thanks a lot Mitsuhiko-kun. You really didn't have to get me something so expensive. I'm sure you kids don't get much allowance."

"You're very welcome, Shinichi-san. Actually, for Conan-kun's birthday I was going to get him a copy of the book and ask Professor Agasa to send it to him in America."

Of course since the book wasn't released before Conan left for America, Shinichi had acted bummed that he'd have to wait for it to get shipped to his new address. Around the same time he had also mentioned that his birthday was coming up and mentally berated himself when he let slip his actual birthdate, May 4, for the second time. At least unlike Ran, the Detective Boys had no idea at the time that Shinichi's birthday was the same date.

"When I went to buy the book at the bookstore with my sister for Conan-kun she ended up buying another copy for me since I was interested as well. B-but, well… I think you'd enjoy it more than I would."

Shinichi wasn't sure what the boy's reservations about reading the book were at first. Though after a moment of thought he realized that the poor boy probably couldn't actually read a book at such a high reading level, with all the difficult kanji and such.

After Shinichi thanked him again, Mitsuhiko smiled broadly and then pushed Genta forward as he had yet to greet the teen.

"Er, hi Shinichi-oniichan. I was gonna give you my _unaju_ that my mom made for my lunch, but Ayumi reminded me about that time you told us you can't stand fish..." He paused looking up unsurely at Shinichi who was giving him a thoroughly confused look.

Shinichi obviously had no idea what or when Genta was referring to and didn't even know how to respond to that so he remained speechless waiting for the boy to keep going.

Likewise, Genta wasn't sure if he had said something wrong but he decided to continue on when the older boy didn't ask him anything. "At first I couldn't think of anything else to get you but then I realized something. Conan told us how he learned all those awesome soccer moves he could do from you. We were gonna play soccer today with this," from under his arm, Genta presented his prized soccer ball which was signed by none other than Akagi Hideo, or Hide of the Tokyo Spirits. Shinichi remembered that Genta had gotten it signed during the J. League promotional event before the J. League All-Star Soccer bomber case. "But I thought maybe you could show me how to get better so that way I can beat that little punk next time he comes back. So if you promise to teach me, I'll give you my treasured soccer ball."

"Genta-kun! You're not supposed to make a trade with him!" Ayumi scolded the larger boy. Her hands were balled into fists and she tried to scowl at him, which to many might have looked more cute than intimidating—unless of course one knew her well and admitted that the girl could be both at the same time when she wanted to be.

"Ah, Genta-kun are you sure you want to make this deal? That ball must mean a lot to you. How are you going to play soccer today without it too?" Again, he felt the strangeness of being related to Conan when his friend unknowingly brought up his recently given-up alias again. Shinichi also felt guilty yet honored at the same time hearing what Genta had to say. He _had_ been jealous back then when Genta had gotten Hide to sign his soccer ball when no one else noticed, but he wasn't going to be childish over it. However, he also felt guilty knowing that Genta would never have the opportunity to win against Conan, as he was never coming back.

"Yeah, it's fine. I bragged to Mitsuhiko and Conan when I got the ball signed. I didn't feel bad at the time but Ayumi got mad at me and told me that they were really disappointed that I went behind their backs. Ayumi said I, uh, didn't deserve to keep it. When I said I didn't have nothing to give you, and when she saw me kicking it around earlier, she nagged me saying I should give it to you. Uh, plus the professor said he has another one we can use for today," Genta grunted out his reasoning, still holding the ball out in front of him. He was surprisingly serious and stared straight at Shinichi waiting for his reply.

Shinichi was stunned at his young friend's modesty and unusual willingness to give up something important to him. Genta considering giving up his fried eel was even more unthinkable, or at least he had thought. He wasn't sure if it was right of him to take it or not. If Genta were any of the guys from the soccer club back at Teitan High he would have snatched it up without a second thought. But this was Genta, a nine-year-old, and it wasn't the same now that Shinichi wasn't an elementary school student like the others anymore.

"Genta-kun!" Ayumi continued to pester her stubborn friend while he was being uncharacteristically patient waiting for Shinichi's answer.

Shinichi wasn't sure if the boy got tired of the nagging or of waiting for his response but he grunted and placed the soccer ball in Shinichi's lap. Although he tried to seem like he didn't care that he was giving up something so cherished, Shinichi could see the almost-hidden signs in his face that he was actually a little upset. "Fine, you don't have to prom—"

"I promise I'll show you anything you want to learn," Shinichi swore before Genta could even finish his sentence. He gave Genta a big smile and patted the large boy's shoulder. "But, you'll have to wait awhile. I don't think I'll be able to play until I heal completely."

"Can Shinichi-san teach us all the things he taught Conan-kun about being a detective too?" Mitsuhiko eagerly inquired as well.

The anticipation on the inquisitive boy's face almost made Shinichi want to get out of bed and run off and find whatever random case that would almost certainly pop-up sooner or later for the Detective Boys. Sometimes he was glad that the mysteries they ran into didn't _always _include a dead body.

"Ah, maybe. I'll have to test you out and see how good you are at solving cases without Conan-kun to help you out first though." He smirked watching their initial expressions of self-consciousness and doubt change into eager determination.

"We'll show you we don't need Conan!" Genta announced boldly, ready for any test the great detective could challenge them with.

"How about this? If you come back tomorrow I'll have a puzzle for you to solve... in the form of a treasure map. If you figure it out and find the treasure, I'll know you're worthy." He grinned, glancing back and forth between the three while he made his offer.

"Alright! Treasure!" the three cheered, no longer so shy around the unfamiliar teen detective.

Shinichi laughed sardonically to himself thinking, _Oi, oi, aren't you guys supposed to be more excited about solving the puzzle or is all you care about the treasure?_

* * *

After about an hour, the Detective Boys had warmed up to the teen detective just as quickly as if he were their age. At some point, Ayumi had climbed up onto the bed to sit at the end near Shinichi's feet. Despite saying that he had to wait to see if the kids were worthy before giving them any advice, Shinichi eagerly started answering some of Mitsuhiko's questions about forensics and describing all the cases he had solved involving food for Genta. However, he told them they'd have to solve tomorrow's puzzle before he would even consider telling them all about his Big Case and how he got injured. Mostly, he didn't want to talk about it more than he had to.

Ran was quietly conversing with Haibara, although Shinichi couldn't hear what they were talking about over the loud voices of the real children. They appeared to be getting along well which was much different than it had been like not long ago. For that, the detective was more than happy. Haibara and Ran shared a few smiles throughout the visit, occasionally looking in his direction, making Shinichi think the two girls were saying _something _about him, though he had no idea what. A couple of times he smiled back at Ran when she smiled fondly at him first too.

Eventually the Detective Boys began to diverge from the previous discussion and onto more suitable topics for children. Shinichi, no longer obligated to share _all_ of their interests, began to zone out, thinking about all the serious matters going on outside of the hospital.

However, he also started to tire. What little energy he had for now, being medicated, was starting to run low. He yawned and stretched carefully, trying not to pull at the bullet wound on his abdomen.

At the same time, Genta—who was animatedly summarizing a Kamen Yaiba episode that Mitsuhiko had missed—started pathetically imitating some monster by stomping around the room and attempted some strange fighting moves. "…And then the monster Yaiba was fighting was all like this! Uwahh!" The large boy bellowed as he then tripped on the sheet that was hanging from the side of Shinichi's bed, pulling the sheet and blanket almost all the way off, despite Ayumi's weight on the end of the bed, as he tried to prevent himself from falling—which was an unsuccessful attempt anyway.

"Genta-kun!" half the room exclaimed. Both Agasa and Ran rushed over to make sure he wasn't injured. "Are you all right?" Agasa questioned in concern.

"Ow, ow, ow. It hurts a little but I-I think so." Fortunately, due to his tough skull, it appeared to just be a little bump on the head.

Along with the sheets, Shinichi's old flip-phone, which had still been in his lap, went clattering onto the linoleum-tiled floor and rested near Mitsuhiko's feet. The freckled boy bent over and picked it up. As he walked over to the bed to hand it back to Shinichi, he stared at it, trying to figure out what about it was giving him this nagging feeling in the back of his mind. His brows furrowed and he took up a thinking pose that he had picked up from Conan once he reached the side of the bed.

Shinichi, who had been previously distracted by Genta, noticed Mitsuhiko wearing the most curious expression while holding the red cell phone as he walked forward. Though, he didn't realize that Mitsuhiko was having a moment of déjà vu concerning the device. He instinctively held his hand out to receive his phone back. When the skinny boy continued to fixate on the phone, Shinichi a bit impatiently coaxed his attention back to the room. "Mitsuhiko-kun? Can I get my phone?"

"Huh? Oh-of course. I'm sorry." He placed the phone into Shinichi's larger hand, still attempting to figure out why it was so familiar.

Ayumi, who was still at the foot of the bed, turned her attention from Genta to the two boys' exchange. She as well took note of the familiarity of the phone. She placed her finger up to her chin and looked up in thought too. When she went to take a second look at the phone, she realized that the teenager had already put it away out of view. In addition, she easily lost her train of thought as Professor Agasa left the room to get an ice pack for Genta's head from one of the nurses.

Ran, who had mostly been keeping an eye on Shinichi the whole time, noticed the indications that Shinichi was probably worn out even before Genta's accident. "Alright everyone, it looks like Shinichi could use some rest. After Genta-kun's head feels better why don't we go get some lunch before I take you to the park?" The three kids, especially Genta who was starving by now despite his injury, quickly agreed to Ran's suggestion. Ran helped Ayumi off of the bed who then bounced over to Genta and Mitsuhiko and started making fun of Genta for falling.

Ran then bent down to whisper something in Shinichi's ear and then gave him a kiss on the forehead. She smiled when she saw that he was blushing furiously. Despite a little part of her that wanted to stay, she stood back up and turned to encourage the giggling Detective Boys toward the door.

"Ai-chan, are you coming?" Ran asked as she looked back into the room, noticing Haibara approaching Shinichi.

Haibara replied looking over her shoulder, "I'll be right behind you, I'd like to talk to Kudou-kun for a moment."

Ran noticed a rare smile upon the girl's face and was momentarily surprised before realizing that she was staring. "Ah… Alright, we'll be down in the lobby," she said hesitantly giving the girl a small smile in return and closed the door behind her.

As the door was shut, Haibara turned back to Shinichi and walked over to his bed. Using the chair to help herself up, she sat on the foot of the bed where Ayumi had been seated a moment ago and began to idly sway her feet over the side of the bed. She gave Shinichi her usual cheeky smirk but didn't say anything right away.

After waiting for Haibara to say something sarcastic to him, he finally spoke up first, "Oi, did you stay behind to say something or not?" He returned her smirk with a deadpan stare and carefully began to lean back into the bed to get comfortable again. Like Ran, he was surprised when Haibara's expression shifted into a more genuine smile.

In a sincere, yet serious tone she finally spoke her mind. "You know, the Detective Boys are never going to be the same without their 'Conan-kun.' But maybe with 'Shinichi-niisan' around it might not be all that different. They still need someone to guide them after all. Who better than the Sherlock Holmes of the modern world? They might not realize it yet, but you're just as important to them as they are to you."

Shinichi just stared at Haibara for a good while, slightly gaping, before his lips turned up into a nostalgic smile. He rubbed the back of his neck and admitted, "Yeah… You're right, I guess." Shinichi paused glancing over to the get-well presents the Detective Boys brought him and chuckled to himself.

"I know that a little bit of me is still Conan. I felt it even more when they were here just now. I never really realized how much I cared for those kids before all this." He reached over and grabbed the soccer ball Genta had brought him, wishing he felt well enough to juggle it in the air with his feet; instead he opted to spin it around in his hands.

Although he was smiling, there seemed to be some other emotion behind his grin. Haibara tried to read Shinichi's expression. She knew he must have been thinking about the question she wanted to ask, or at least that he must have considered it at one point. She waited to see if he was going to say anything more, debating if she was going to ask it or not. When he didn't go on she finally questioned, "Are you ever going to tell them about 'Edogawa Conan'?"

The soccer ball stopped spinning in his hands and his head shot up to look directly at Haibara in surprise again. A whole range of expressions crossed his face—the most prominent one was uncertainty. Of all the people that he could reveal his secret to, he never came to a decision on whether the Detective Boys should know. He realized that he didn't have an answer for her.

"Well, would you tell them about yourself? I think you might destroy Mitsuhiko's hopes if he knew." He grinned and laughed while imagining the distraught look on the young boy's face when he realized how out of his league Haibara really was.

He laughed even harder when he looked again at Haibara and noticed the strange mix of annoyed exasperation and embarrassed blush. She huffed and swung her legs unto the bed and lightly kicked the irritating detective in the shin.

"Ow, ow, geez a little sympathy here? Anyway, you know it's the truth." His momentary, exaggerated grievance didn't last long and he returned to smirking and chuckling.

"Oh, and what about Yoshida-san? Edogawa-kun broke her heart by leaving. How do you think she would feel to know he never really existed?"

At this he stopped laughing. Dropping the soccer ball into his lap, he raised both arms up, placing his hands behind his head and leaned into the pillow. Sighing and slightly frowning at Haibara, he said solemnly, "For a little girl, her crush on Conan was pretty serious. She took it a lot harder than I thought she would. I'm… I'm just glad that you were there for her. She's young. She'll bounce back from it soon, I hope. Ugh, I feel like I should teach some little brat a lesson for leading my little sister on, but that's pretty ironic, isn't it?" He gave a half-hearted laugh and brushed a hand through his already slightly messy, bed-head hair.

He closed his eyes, feeling tired again, and let out a large yawn. _Geez, I just woke up too. I must be on some heavy pain medication to feel so drowsy, _he thought broodily.

"But really, I don't know. They're still so young. I don't know if they would even be able to understand. My situation was hard enough for some adults to even comprehend after all," he said wearily in apprehension.

Haibara hummed in contemplation, her gaze toward her lap. _Does Kudou-kun really not see how bright these children really are? _She wasn't sure if she agreed with him. But after he asked her if she would tell them as well she wished she hadn't asked him in the first place. Although she wanted to give up all ties to her past life, what right did she have to keep the truth to herself if Shinichi were to give away his secret? _"We're in this together",_ Conan's old words rang through her mind again, not for the first time. Somewhat regretting bringing up this topic so soon, when she was uncertain of the near future herself, she remained silent, essentially ending the conversation.

Although he was starting to drift off, Shinichi suddenly remembered why Haibara really wanted to stay behind. "Oh, was there anything else you were going to ask me? You said you wanted to do a check-up?" He lazily opened one eye to watch Haibara as she got off the bed.

"Were you able to get your medical records authorized to be released like I requested?" She pushed a different chair over to monitors besides the bed to get a better look. As usual, her expression was unreadable, but at least it didn't seem like she noticed anything unusual either.

"Yeah, the doctor was able to bring them up for me earlier. He placed them over there." He pointed to a folder sitting upon the counter along the far wall, next to the duffle bag Agasa had left for him earlier.

"It must be very convenient being so famous. Giving your name and using your charisma must make the receptionists swoon and agree to anything," Haibara replied mockingly as she hopped down from the chair and went over and picked up the folder and began to leaf through the papers.

Shinichi twitched in annoyance. Even though Haibara wasn't looking at him, he gave her a defeated look, and sighed loudly. "Oi, it wasn't as easy as you think. I had to call in a few favors for the hospital to supply the records without asking too many questions since I haven't been released yet. You do know that Beika General's hospital administrator is a man, don't you? There was no 'swooning' involved. And it usually takes a lot longer but I was able to get the records processed by today so you could take a look. Be a little grateful." He mumbled the last comment to himself afterwards, which was low enough that even Haibara couldn't hear.

"Hmm? I thought _I_ was the one doing _you_ a favor by checking your medical records to make sure you wouldn't have any aging complications. Wouldn't want Edogawa Conan showing up unexpectedly, now would we?" Shinichi definitely heard her emphasis on 'I' and 'you' as she tried to turn the tables on him. She knew how to rile him up without even trying. Sounding relatively unconcerned despite the implications, she instead looked more interested in whatever she was finding in his records.

Shinichi was anxious watching her expression change multiple times as she continued reading the medical information. He was still slightly harried, now that she tried to pass the indebtedness back to him. He was also tired, grumpy, and now his abdomen was started to feel the creeping of pain, as the medicine wasn't strong enough in his wakened state—at least he was reassured that he would pass out soon again once Haibara left to rejoined the others.

He yawned loudly again, his closed eyes watering slightly. He kept his eyes shut and reclined further down into the bed getting ready to fall back asleep. "Well then, whose fault is that to begin with anyway?" he thoughtlessly mumbled more to himself to feel satisfied that he'd won this pointless bickering match.

He heard her inhale sharply. The detective didn't realize that Haibara had actually heard him and really didn't consider what he'd said until he peaked at her with one eye. Shinichi cursed at himself and tried to push himself back up, but he did it too quickly and a pain shot through his body from his wound. He silently cursed even more. "Haibara, I—"

"I'm sorry Kudou-kun," she quickly cut him off. Her tone was quiet, sincere, guilty. Her head was bowed and her strawberry blond bangs covered her eyes. She closed the folder and held it tightly to prevent her hands from betraying her stoicism by trembling against her will and then she calmly headed to the door without turning back to the detective.

"Haibara w-wait! I-I didn't mean that! I wasn't, I wasn't thinking! Please. You know— Haibara!" He tried to get out of the bed, but with the pain in his abdomen and the still connected IV tubes preventing him from catching the girl before the door closed behind her, he had no choice but to give up.

_Ba'rou! With everything she's been through to make this up to you and you had to be an arrogant idiot and say something like that! Kuso!_ he yelled grabbed his cell phone to call her but when it went straight to voicemail he sighed angrily at himself and pounded his fists by his sides on the soft surface of the bed. The steady beeping of the electrocardiograph was the only noise that filled the otherwise silent room now that everyone was gone. In irritation he reached over and muted the unnecessary device even if it was against hospital protocol and the nurse would likely scold him later.

After a few minutes of berating himself, he eventually calmed down, again realizing how exhausted he was. _Damnit. She left without telling me anything about my health. Whatever, I'll call the professor later and have him ask her,_ was his last thought before he finally drifted off.

* * *

Chapter Illustration: fav. me/d6jq9wj

* * *

AN:

I don't plan to detail the whole BO takedown since I don't think I would be able to come up with something on that large of a scale. At least without being dissatisfied with it. I don't want to ruin such a monumental part of the series and have yet to really see anyone pull it off. I guess I just have too high of expectations for that part. However, I do have in mind some flashback instances in mind, which might explain a little more where everything and everyone stands as of now.

I'm trying not to use practically any Japanese words but I feel like certain words just work a lot better without translating them. Of course I'm keeping honorifics because they are pretty important. The way Shinichi says 'ba'rou' and not 'baka' is one example. Or how Ran likes to say 'mou' not 'taku' for 'geez' or whatever.

As a personal preference, I'm going to try to use as much new information from the manga as possible, I might limit it to the anime since some people only follow that. I will probably also use elements from movies/ovas/AO/magic files, etc if I think it fits the scene in some way. **So if you aren't caught up or haven't watched some of those movies or specials, be warned of potential spoilers and speculation. **

With that hint in mind, I hope everyone got Genta's reference that even Shinichi didn't understand. Hehehe :P

I had a hard time decided how I should call our favorite tsundere scientist, Haibara or Ai. I usually think of her by Haibara, especially when Conan/Shinichi is interacting with her, which is a good portion of the time, so I ended up going with that. Although most of the characters I address by their given names.

Some quotes that I had in this chapter but pulled out because I didn't like how they fit. I'm sure I'll find a place to use them in the future:

Haibara: "I know that you have your body back, but neither of us is going back to our old lives."

Shinichi: "It's like I have three little siblings I have to look after and teach things to but still… still have fun and get into trouble with."

**The original drawing for the cover can be found on my dA account, the link is in my profile. Please check it out. Thanks!***


	2. A Hot Date and a Little Red Dress

**Chapter 2: A Hot Date and a Little Red Dress**

* * *

After Ran had invited herself to accompany the children to the park, Professor Agasa said goodbye to the group for the time being. He'd mentioned having to go home so he could pick up that spare soccer ball and drop it off to them at the park later once they got there. The professor also enthusiastically explained that he needed to get back to work on his "most extraordinary invention yet" in preparation for a convention that was coming up. No one knew what exactly that was, and all he said when the Detective Boys asked was, "It's a secret," and gave them a mischievous wink.

Although Agasa was usually the one to take up the role of chaperon for trips, he believed—or at least hoped—that a simple outing to the park was safe enough for the children to do on their own. Of course, with all the chaos of the last few months, all the adults in-the-know couldn't help but be a little overprotective lately. Though, for the most part, children were as carefree as always—children such as the Detective Boys. So he was a little relieved when Ran took up the role despite Genta's complaints that they didn't need a "grown-up" to follow them around _all_ the time. Not that Ayumi or Mitsuhiko minded—they seemed to enjoyed their Ran-neechan's company.

Either way, all three children—especially Genta—were excitedly discussing lunch while waiting in the lobby with Ran for Haibara to meet them back downstairs. At least Ayumi was sitting in a chair next to Ran, and Mitsuhiko was sitting in another opposite the two girls. As much as she tried, Ran couldn't get Genta to sit down and although he kept in close vicinity, the boy was restlessly pacing around. Trying to make sure the young detectives—again mostly Genta—wouldn't bother the rest of the hospital visitors, Ran figured she should try to keep them occupied.

For starters, she decided to offer the children to give their opinions on where the best place to go eat would be. "So, where should we go to get lunch? Any ideas?"

"Somewhere where I can get _unagi_!" Genta responded without putting much thought into any specific location. He didn't even give a chance for his two friends to consider a place.

"You said you already have _unaju _with you. For once, don't you think that's too much eel, Genta-kun?" Mitsuhiko was the one to bemoan Genta's ridiculousness this time, not Ayumi. Instead, the girl was giggling in response to both Genta's comment and Mitsuhiko's response.

"No way! Now I can have _unadon_ for lunch, and _unaju_ for a snack later!" Genta replied, his mouth watering at the thought—in his mind it was a completely rational argument.

Before he left, Agasa had been carrying another bag—besides the one he had left for Shinichi—that had all the things he'd thought to bring for a day at the park, which included Genta's lunch among other snacks. He had handed it off to Ran earlier, so now the teenage girl had possession of the subject of the boys' debate. She noticed Genta glance over and stare at the bag on the floor next to her feet as if it were the last piece of food on the planet. _Can he really not wait? We're going to head out to eat in just a few minutes!_

By that point, Ayumi was laughing out loud, though neither boy seemed to care in the least. Even Ran was doing her best to not laugh as well, being the mature adult of the group.

Mitsuhiko was speechless—but only for a short moment. His face met his hand in an oddly mature fashion, another habit that was likely picked up from Conan at some point. "Seriously? There's not even a difference between the two! One is just served in a bowl and the other in a box!" the boy countered while trying to illustrate his point by forming the shapes of the mentioned serving containers with his hands.

"Whatever. You don't have to be a know-it-all, you know. Aren't you just jealous that I got to pick where we're going?" Although Genta was anticipating his lunch, he was starting to get annoyed with Mitsuhiko's nagging. He huffed and crossed his arms in irritation. Even the corners of his mouth turned down into a pout and his eyebrows furrowed as he glowered at his friend.

Mitsuhiko hopped out of his chair to face off with Genta. "You didn't even pick! You just said what you wanted to eat," he declared more shrilly than he meant to and threw his arms up. His raised voice caused a few others waiting in the lobby to turn their direction and give the children disapproving looks. The lanky boy soon regretted leaving the chair since Genta had a good head's height over him as they stared each other down—at least on the chair he'd had at least two or three inches more. The other customers staring at them now didn't help the situation either, so he backed down sheepishly.

"Alright now, if you all can't agree on a place, I'll just have to decide," Ran interrupted, trying to placate the quarreling boys as she noticed the attention they were getting as well. If Ran were any other adult, she might have lost her patience with them by now. Regardless, she knew if she didn't intervene the two would cause an even bigger scene. She just hoped that by distracting them she could subtly dissuade them from arguing. "I know a nice, little family restaurant not too far from here. They have great miso soup and curry and I'm sure they have delicious _unagi. _How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me!" Genta answered in a booming voice, easily pacified and looking eager to go _anywhere_ that served fried eel. Mitsuhiko gave his approval and Ayumi gave an enthusiastic affirmative as well in between her subsiding fits of giggles.

After that, the two boys gave each other one last fed-up look and then went about their own business. Genta returned to pacing and Mitsuhiko picked up a medical magazine from a table in the center of the seating area before returning to the chair.

Ran similarly went over to pick up an issue of _ComCom_ fashion magazine, so that she and Ayumi could look through it together. They spent a few minutes going through the magazine and chatting about all the latest fashion trends—even though the clothes weren't exactly for a girl Ayumi's age. Besides pointing out which ones she thought were super cute or one's she liked, Ayumi seemed to like deciding which outfit would go best with which person she knew or which random person in the room.

Ayumi was spending a good deal of time on one page, trying to figure out who one of the dresses on the page should be worn by. _Hmm tulips? No… Daisies? Nope…__ Azaleas__… hm, not those either… __Hibiscus? The color is the same for some… but it's still not the right one… Maybe it's… yes! Oh, this goes best with…!_

Ran wasn't sure which one she was most interested in among the few printed on that particular page until Ayumi cried, "Ah, this one is perfect for Ran-oneesan!" For the first time, Ayumi had matched something with Ran and pointed to the one in question with a huge smile on her face.

The dress was a rather simple one—it was a red knee-length tube top with a white and magenta flower pattern on the skirt that wasn't at all overwhelming. It looked to be made of some breezy fabric that would be perfect to wear for this time of the year and into the summer. _Hmm, it's not that fancy but it is definitely cute! I wonder, what's so special about this one? _Looking at it more closely, she found that she actually liked it quite a bit and was surprised at Ayumi's good eye, despite her own overly cute eight year-old sense of fashion.

"Ah, thank you Ayumi-chan. I do really like it. What made you choose this one for me though?" Now Ran's interest was piqued about younger girl's selection process.

"So far, I didn't see anything else that was red that suited Ran-oneesan just right. But when I saw this one, I saw the flowers and I was trying to remember what kind they were. When we went to the flower shop on the way here I asked the flower-obasan all about the flowers so I could pick the best ones for Shinichi-oniisan."

"Oh? Then, the kind of flowers on this dress is…?" She questioned to Ayumi and to herself as she took a second closer look at the dress.

"_Ran_!" Ayumi answered at the same time that Ran figured it out on her own. _Of course, my name means orchid after all, _she thought in amusement.

"Oh, I guess you're right, Ayumi-chan! A dress with orchids on it does suit me, doesn't it?" Ran smiled while imagining herself wearing it. She blushed when she then wondered if Shinichi would like it. If she were shopping with her best friend Suzuki Sonoko and happened upon the same dress, she knew girl would eventually persuade her into buying it. Since Sonoko would most likely say that Shinichi would _highly_ appreciate the dress, she'd push the purchase especially for that reason.

_Speaking of Sonoko…,_ Ran pulled out her cell phone to take a picture of the dress and send her friend an e-mail. Sonoko and her family were off vacationing in Europe since just after their high school graduation. Remembering what the date was today, Ran knew that the Suzuki family was going to return to Japan in about a week. However of course, Sonoko had already been planning for more vacation time back home with her before college started and they got too busy until summer break.

The message read: _Window-shopping, er "magazine-shopping" with Ayumi-chan, you know one of Conan-kun's friends. She reminds me of a miniature version of you at the moment. I think she'd make a good partner in crime with you some day or maybe even sooner… ( __ゝ__ω__・__) Taking her and the others to the park soon since I've been cooped up in Shinichi's __hospital__ room for like forever! Don't forget to take tons of photos today so you can show me when you get back home! Have fun, talk to you later! *hugs* And sorry I sent this at like 5 a.m. haha (__〃ﾟ__д__ﾟ〃__)_

Ran chuckled as she sent her message to inform her friend about how "magazine-shopping" for clothes with an elementary school student reminded her of a certain someone. Of course she also wanted to remind Sonoko to take photographs of Rome while her family went on the tour later that day—much later considering it was barely even dawn yet in Italy.

After Ran put her phone away, she returned her attention to Ayumi and the dress again. Although Ayumi had flipped to another page already, the girl still had more to say on the topic, "I wasn't sure if Ran-oneesan noticed, but I picked lots of orchids for the flowers I gave to Shinichi-oniisan. Because if Ran-oneesan is his most favorite person, then he must like orchids a lot too right?" Ayumi looked up at Ran after asking, her bright blue-green eyes were filled with innocent curiosity.

Ran's whole face flamed up at Ayumi's straightforward assertion. She was dumbfounded by the young girl's intuition, which rivaled that of Sonoko—self-declared advisor of Ran's relationship. "U-uh, yeah I think he really likes _Ran_, ah-umm the flowers I mean…" Ran managed to reply. _Even though I'm pretty sure what I actually meant by the first part is true too. Geez, are all girls as young as Ayumi-chan this romantic? And when exactly did she even get that idea about Shinichi anyway?_

Ran noticed that she had unconsciously started fussing with the hem of her skirt. She hoped that by moving the conversation along she might get past her embarrassment. Since Ran was still curious about the girl specifying the color of the dress as part of her reasoning, she ended up asking, "So why were you looking for a red dress in particular?"

"Well I remember Conan-kun once said that your favorite color is red. Is that true?" Ayumi asked first to which Ran nodded yes so she continued her explanation. "Well, Mama likes to wear this one red dress she has a lot when she and Daddy go out on a 'hot date.' I heard her call it that once, but she wouldn't tell me how it was different from a regular date. Do you know? I mean Mama and other grown-up ladies like to wear red lipstick too sometimes when they go on dates, right? Doesn't that mean boys like it when you wear red?"

"Eh?! Wha-uuh… Ah-ah-Ayumi..!— Well… I-I uh… You see…" Ran was so flustered at Ayumi's explanation that when she tried to give a response all that came out was incoherent sputtering as such. _I don't think this conversation can get any more embarrassing!_ she cried out in her mind along with other scattered thoughts.

While Ran was still left speechless at those kinds of questions from the young girl, Ayumi just went on, "Don't you think Shinichi-oniisan would like that dress for you too? I think he'd say you'd look pretty. Daddy always calls Mama pretty or beautiful when she dresses up nice." Ayumi smiled and swung her legs happily as she flipped to the next page.

"Ah… I-Is that so?" Ran was still blushing but at least the younger girl didn't repeat the questions that Ran was avoiding answering. Regaining her speech, Ran eventually replied, "I don't know, Ayumi-chan. You know how boys are. For one, they don't know the first thing about fashion. You just have to wait to see their expression to know if they like something or not. You can't take their word most of the time since they often will say 'you look great' regardless of what they really think."

"Really?" Ayumi asked rhetorically and continued looking through the magazine while digesting what Ran told her. Ayumi pouted as she came to the end of the magazine. "Ai-chan is a lot better at this game than I am. She always picks out the best outfits and matches them up with the perfect people," she said with a hint of jealousy.

"Speaking of Haibara-san, don't you think she's taking awhile? What did she need to talk to Shinichi-san about anyway?" Mitsuhiko asked looking up from his own magazine after apparently hearing Ayumi mention Haibara.

Before his question could be answered Genta spoke up too, though his eyes were glued to a handheld video game console. Ran assumed that he must have had taken it from his pocket and started playing sometime while she and Ayumi were occupied. "Yeah, she's taking forever! Is she coming with us or not? I'm starving here!"

Ran glanced at her wristwatch and noticed that it had been quite a few minutes since they had come downstairs. She offered to go check on Haibara and headed to the elevators that were right to the side of the lobby. One of the elevator cars arrived from the upper floors just as she got there. It just so happened that when the doors opened, the girl in question stepped out.

"Ah, Ai-chan. I was just about to come get you. Are you ready to—" Ran paused when Haibara looked up at her. The girl looked distant, like she often used to not much more than a month ago—not like how she had looked just minutes ago in Shinichi's room. Of course Ran was worried that something happened between the two upstairs and wasn't sure whether she should ask. But she wanted Haibara to be able to talk to her, now that she understood a lot more than she had in the past. "Ai-chan, are you all right?" she questioned in a more serious tone. Ran was asking a friend, not a child.

"I'm fine. Please inform the children that I had to head home right away because Kudou-kun forgot to give something important to the professor before he left and that he gave it to me to give to him," Ai replied impassively without giving any other explanation. She couldn't help but feel unworthy of the girl's sincere concern. _No matter how long it has been, it's still too soon. Mouri-san, I'm sorry. _She then turned to head to the front entrance before the Detective Boys noticed her.

"Ah, wait, Ai-chan," Ran called before the girl took another step. Haibara stopped and just barely turned back to look over her shoulder even though she just wanted to leave already. "Um… Everything _will_ be all right, won't it?"

Haibara knew what Ran actually meant by her question. She sighed softly and turned fully to face her once again. She locked eyes with the girl standing above her. "If it's last thing I do, I have to make sure it will be," she declared with complete resolution. She turned around for the last time before her nerves gave away again. Just months ago, she would have never imagined how easily she would give in to such weakness. _If it's the only good thing I can do, I will make this up to Kudou-kun._

After watching Haibara leave the hospital, Ran slowly made her way back to the seats where the three children were still waiting. She was still slightly concerned about the young woman who still remained in the form of a child even despite her reassurances during their brief conversation. Ran had also known that Haibara was there for something important. However, Shinichi didn't really mention any details about it after she had called the night before, besides saying that she would be coming today with Professor Agasa.

When the kids saw Ran coming back they noticed that Haibara wasn't with her.

"Oi! Where's Haibara?" Genta asked in annoyance.

"It seems Shinichi forgot to give something to Professor Agasa and he asked Ai-chan to give it to him. She said she had to go catch up with him," Ran explained.

Mitsuhiko raised an eyebrow and said, "The professor is probably almost home by now. Couldn't she have given whatever it was to him later?"

"Well, that is… She said he would need it right away, so…" Ran answered ambiguously.

"Whatever. Every other time, Haibara always has some excuse to not hang out anyway. Let's just go already. I'm starving." Genta complained. He shoved his video game into his pocket and rushed over to the doors while nagging them all to hurry up.

* * *

To the relief of the Detective Boys, the group finally made it to the restaurant that Ran had suggested, which turned out to be a placed called Danny's. They all headed inside and were seated in a booth by the window. The hostess handed them appropriate menus and the kids began skimming over the pictures to see what looked tasty and to compare what they thought.

The first time Ran had come here was less than two years ago when her friends Kazuha and Heiji were stopping by. She shouldn't have been so surprised that a murder took place and that they all wound up getting involved with the investigation. However, she didn't know back then the truth of the friendly competition between Shinichi and Heiji. _Baka, ne? Just another instance when I should have realized what those dumb expressions on Hattori-kun and Conan-kun's faces meant… Also, there sure were a lot of people involved with that one. There was the four of us, __Masumi-chan__, and Agent Camel… besides of course Inspector Megure and Detective Takagi since it's their jobs after all._

_Ah, speaking of Masumi-chan. I completely forgot to visit her today like I planned! Everyone visiting Shinichi distracted me and now here I am, tagging along with the kids. Well, I suppose I can always stop by when I head back to the hospital later tonight. I better stop home first though otherwise dad will have a fit, trash the office, and then burn the house down trying to cook dinner for himself. _While Ran was busy fretting she hadn't even glanced over the menu and the waitress coming over to take their orders finally pulled her out of her thoughts. She let the children order first so she could at least have a minute to quickly look over the menu to order something for herself.

"Hey, didn't Conan mention forever ago that someone was killed here?" Genta asked as if reading Ran's thoughts when he happened to vaguely remember the case as well.

"Yeah! You're right! But that was more like two years ago not forever ago." Mitsuhiko replied and glanced upwards, trying to remember some of the details. Genta shot him an annoyed look about the correction, but other boy didn't seem to notice.

"Didn't he say Ran-oneesan, and Heiji-oniichan were there too?" Ayumi mentioned and the three looked at Ran as if asking for her input.

"Ah… Yeah, I remember it pretty well because Hattori-kun and Shinichi were competing to see who could solve the case first. It was really surprising how they figured it out using overly salted miso soup to trick the culprit into revealing his _Kansai-ben_—" Ran replied starting to explain a little bit about the case.

"Whaaat? Shinichi-oniichan was there too? Why didn't he mention it at the hospital when I asked him about those kinds of cases?" Genta complained in disappointment, cutting Ran off.

"Hmm, that is sort of strange. Now that I think about it, he kept saying 'and this case I solved a couple years ago' like he hasn't solved a case recently," Mitsuhiko added as he returned to his thinking pose.

By this point, Genta had already grabbed a pair of chopsticks from a box on the table and started playing with them despite being chastised for bad manners plenty of times by his parents on other occasions. After hearing Mitsuhiko's comment he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What, he lived under a rock the last few years or something?"

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko just shrugged and gave a mumbled "_saa_…" in response.

Before any of them asked more about the case, Ran spoke up. "Anyway… Let's not talk about people dying at the table. I'm sure Shinichi can tell you more about it tomorrow or another time if you really want to know. Plus, Shinichi wasn't even—" Ran was again interrupted, but it wasn't by any of the children. Instead the culprit was her cellphone's ringtone. She went to grab it from her bag but accidentally dropped it, to which she muttered some pleasantries at her clumsiness, hoping the children didn't pick up on. She was surprised when she noticed who was calling by the caller-id.

"Hello? Sonoko? Oh, I didn't wake you up with my mail did I? I'm sorry, I thought you always kept your phone on silent at night!" Ran asked hastily before the person on the other end could get a word in.

"Ran you… I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Sonoko whined sleepily into the phone.

"Eh? Tell you what?" Ran asked confused thinking Sonoko was talking nonsense from being just woken up.

_"'I've been cooped up in Shinichi's room for like forever'? _Ran, you, you… You are so lucky girl!" Sonoko drawled out quoting Ran's message from not too long ago and then began to squeal so much that Ran had to hold the phone from her ear.

"S-Sonoko! _Mou_, Did you even read that message properly? I should've just waited to mail you after you woke up! I'm pretty sure I said 'Shinichi's _hospital_ room.' _Hospital_. You know, 'cause I told you he was shot during one of his cases!" Ran moaned to her ecstatic, yet ridiculous best friend.

By this point the Detective Boys were watching the teen attentively and snickering a bit from hearing the one-sided discussion. More than a little flustered, Ran decided that she should probably have this conversation in privacy. "Umm, Sonoko I'm out at a restaurant with Conan-kun's friends. Just give me a second to step outside."

Addressing the Detective Boys she said, "Uh, I'm going to talk with my friend outside for just a bit. I'll be just over there." At that, she pointed through the window to a bench facing the restaurant where she could easily see their booth inside. "If I'm not back before the food is done, I'll at least see when it arrives and come back in then. Is that alright?" Ran explained, still embarrassed from Sonoko's unexpected phone call. The kids chuckling at her expense didn't help either.

"That's alright. Ran-oneesan wants to have boyfriend-talk with her friend, right?" Ayumi chirped perceptively and beamed at Ran.

"No! Uh, I mean yes… Um, yeah I guess. Anyway, don't go running off, I'm sure the food will be here shortly." Ran then headed back to the front of the restaurant and out the door.

Ayumi was still smiling and laughing as Ran had left. When she calmed down, she remembered that something during that event reminded her of something else. _Hmm, what was it? Something Ran-oneesan said? No… Oh, right, when she dropped the phone it was like when Shinichi-oniisan dropped his._ "Hey, Mitsuhiko-kun, did you think there was something familiar about Shinichi-oniisan's phone?"

"Oh, you too? Actually, I could have sworn I've seen it before, but I couldn't remember where or when." Yet again, Mitsuhiko found himself trying to recall something about the cell phone.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about? When'd he drop his phone? I didn't see it." Genta prodded, feeling left out.

"Of course not—you were too busy smashing your head on the floor at the time," Mitsuhiko mocked without answering the larger boy's questions. He and Ayumi started chuckling again.

"Oi! Think that's funny do ya?" Genta poked Mitsuhiko's arm a few times with his chopsticks in annoyance.

"Ow, ow…" the skinny boy said reflexively although it didn't really hurt much. "Maybe…" he then grabbed Genta's chopsticks when his friend went to try again. After fighting over the chopsticks for a moment, Genta surprisingly gave up and just grabbed a second pair from the box. Mitsuhiko on the other hand returned to his discussion with Ayumi. "Anyway, now that I think about it, doesn't Professor Agasa's phone look like the one Shinichi-san has?"

"Hmmmm… Oh, yeah I think so!" Ayumi chirped, pounding a first into her other palm.

"The professor's? That antique red flip phone that he's had since forever ago?" Genta asked trying to follow along.

"Yeah." Mitsuhiko and Ayumi replied together. Additionally, Mitsuhiko added, "And he didn't have it since forever ago, it was more like two years ago."

"_Whatever_, always-a-know-it-all. Didn't Conan have the same one too before that scrawny brat got a fancy smartphone like all the grown-ups have now-days? But his had that soccer ball dangler so they didn't mix them up," Genta stated, somehow having a better memory than the other too.

At that, both Mitsuhiko and Ayumi cried out in surprise and pointed at Genta as if he were a culprit. "No way! Shinichi-san's phone was the exact same phone _and _had a soccer ball charm," Mitsuhiko exclaimed. He couldn't believe he didn't realize that sooner!

"What a coincidence!" Ayumi added in similar disbelief.

After Genta's revelation, they launched into extensive speculation about such an unlikely coincidence. _This smells of a mystery!_ was the general thought that passed through each of the Detective Boy's minds.

* * *

A few blocks down the street and three stories up, a sleeping boy was momentarily woken by an unwelcomed sneeze. His foggy mind groaned as the sudden convulsive movement shot painful tingles along his side. _Kuso, I better not be getting sick…_ he thought before falling quickly back to sleep.

* * *

Outside the restaurant, Ran returned her attention to Sonoko on the other end of the phone call as she made her way over to the bench. "Sorry about that. You know how those kids are. They'd want to hear _everything_. Anyway, did I really wake you up with that mail? Like I said—"

"Don't worry about it!" Still, Ran could hear her yawn in the background and shook her head.

Over in Italy, Sonoko situated herself comfortably back into bed after returning from the bathroom with a glass of water. She had her own room of the five-star hotel suite her family was staying in. It was still dark outside so she turned on her nightstand lamp. "I was talking to Makoto all night and must've left my phone on. He told me he's coming back to Tokyo for a couple weeks after I get back myself! Waaah, I can't wait to see him again! But more importantly, you _have got_ to tell me about you and your husband!"

Ran could hear her friend swooning in the background. "S-Sonoko! He is _not_ my husband! Doesn't that ever get old?" She yelled under her breath as to not attract attention from the passersby.

"Never!" Ran could hear as her friend cackled in response. "C'mon I want to know all the juicy details!"

"I already messaged you yesterday! Shinichi got shot protecting a witness on his special case a couple days ago. He was rushed to the ER but luckily he's all right now. All right enough to even be his usual _baka_ self too." Ran briefly explained for the second time, wondering how Sonoko could actually think something _else_ happened.

Halfway across the world, Sonoko whined into her phone in disappointment. "Come on, Ran, don't hold out on your best friend. _Nothing_ happened? Not even a kiss?"

Ran could tell Sonoko was only teasing her now and laughed. "Hmm… you want to know?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Sonoko begged.

"Well… actually…" Ran dragged out, glad her friend couldn't see her grinning and holding back a laugh. She waited for a few seconds knowing Sonoko was dying of anticipation. "It's a secret," Ran sing-songed the syllables, teasing Sonoko in return. She could hear the other girl moan and groan childishly for a while, and she just laughed uncontrollably the whole time. She couldn't even stop when a few pedestrians walking by glanced at her in concern or amusement. The best she could do was place her hand over her mouth to try and muffle the noise.

After a few last chuckles, both girls finally calmed down. Sonoko eventually restarted their conversation, turning uncharacteristically serious. "It's good to hear you laugh like that, Ran. I, uh, was a bit worried about you… and Shinichi too. Even if he's usually a jerk he didn't deserve to get hurt helping someone."

Ran smiled fondly in response to her friend's concern. "Thanks, Sonoko. I'm sorry I only messaged you instead of calling. I—" Ran paused trying to compose herself as she recalled her distress from the last few days. She absentmindedly picked up one of the cherry blossoms that had fallen onto the bench from a nearby tree along the sidewalk and began to play with it, twirling it with her fingers.

Sonoko understood without Ran trying to excuse herself. That's why they had been best friends since childhood. "I know you didn't feel up to talking much yesterday. I'd be hysterical if I thought Makoto was dying. But you know, you always have my shoulder to lean on when you're upset and that wannabe-detective husband of yours isn't around—and especially when he's the one causing all this doom and gloom."

"Is this _really_ Sonoko I'm talking to?" Ran laughed softly. "Just kidding. But really, thank you. You didn't have to say that all serious like that. _You_ know _I_ know I can always count on you when I get all sad over the silliest things." Ran was still smiling and was tempted to tease her friend more, but she didn't have the heart to do so.

What Ran hadn't mentioned was that she couldn't help but feel relieved that her friend had been out of the country when the Operation reached its climax. Besides what was made public, Sonoko was still unaware of how extensive the involvement all around them had been in these last few years. Ran still felt painfully guilty that she hadn't told Sonoko anything yet, but she promised herself that once she knew it was alright, she would tell her best friend everything—or at least _mostly_ everything. She just hoped that would be soon, since with the more time that past, the bigger the burden this was for Ran. She was acutely aware of the effect that such an enormous secret could have on a friendship. Moreover, she realized this must have been the same dilemma that Shinichi had to face for _so, so_ long. The girl felt as if she were betraying one best friend for the sake of another, not to mention all the others that couldn't know yet.

"That's my Ran!" Sonoko replied cheerily. Trying to make her friend forget about her worries for a while she decided to switch their conversation back to lighter topics. "So, what was that about the four-eyed brat's little girlfriend 'magazine shopping' with you?"

At the mention of Ayumi, Ran looked into the restaurant window to observe her younger friends. The Detective Boys seemed to be discussing something relatively important, since they all had those familiar looking expressions that every detective she knew wore when trying to figure out a puzzle or mystery.

Ran recounted briefly the events that happened that morning. She then went on to tell the "magazine shopping" story, explaining the clothes matching game that Ayumi had been playing. Eventually she got to the part about that little red dress that the girl had picked out for her. She mentioned how amused, yet embarrassed she was when Ayumi gave her reasons for picking that particular dress. Both teenaged girls cracked up when Ran quoted some of Ayumi's most memorable lines.

"Tell me you took a picture of this dress. I'm dying to see what it looks like now." Sonoko said in between gasps and laughs when Ran finished her tale.

"I did. I thought you'd want to see it after all. Let me send it real quick." Ran moved the phone from her ear to hold it out in front of her. Finding the picture in question, she sent it to her friend's address, hoping it would arrive quickly.

Still watching the three children inside Danny's, while she was waiting for Sonoko to get the mail, Ayumi just so happened to look out the window and the two girls smiled and waved to each other. The empty table indicated that the food had yet to arrive.

After another minute of idle chatter Sonoko announced that she finally received the photograph. "Hm, it's not as sexy as I imagined… but I bet that Shinichi would _highly_ appreciate it anyway."

_How did I ever guess that she was going to say that?_ Ran snorted wryly as she rolled her eyes. She had heard the teasing tone to her friend's comment and could only imagine the impish grin on her face. "And you would know this how?"

"It doesn't take a genius to know how a guy would think if he saw his lover wear anything like that."

"L-lover?!" Ran almost shrieked into the phone. "_Mou_, that's even worse than calling him my husband."

Sonoko snickered at her friend's response. "Who said I was referring to Shinichi? What if I was referring to Makoto?" Even though she was laughing, she blushed at her own joke. She pulled up her bedsheet like a little girl hiding, though no one could see her. Yawning loudly, she glanced over to the clock next to the lamp. "Geesh, it's not even six yet… Well, I think I'm going to get some more beauty sleep. I have to impress the all then Roman men with my Japanese beauty when we go on the tour after all. So I have to look my best! I'll tell you about Makoto later, alright?"

"Heh. I can't believe you have no shame in saying those two things at the same time. Anyway it looks like the waitress is bringing the food now, I'd better hurry inside. I'll talk to you later. See ya!"

"Goo' 'ight," Sonoko said in the middle of a yawn. After hanging up, placing her phone on the nightstand, and switching the lamp off, she snuggle back into her bed and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Ran hurried inside and when she returned to the table, the waitress had just finished placing their plates on the table. The lady bowed respectfully and headed to the kitchen. It seemed like the Detective Boys had finished discussing whatever matter had them in investigative mode. From what she caught of the current conversation, it was obvious that they had moved on to the next topic.

"No, it _has_ to be— Megadaros! He's the toughest _kaijin—_ since Baron Potato!" Genta asserted in between shoveling in rice and eel into his mouth. Apparently he hadn't waited until Ran even sat down before digging in.

"So what if he's the toughest! He's nowhere near as _cool_ as Cyber Yaibo," Ayumi argued as she snapped apart her pair of chopsticks.

"I told you two already, Dr. Takoakuma is _much_ smarter than anybody else. There's a seventy percent chance it is going to be him!" Mitsuhiko claimed, despite leaving the source of the statistic uncited—not that either of them questioned it and if Ran did, she didn't ask out loud. Unlike Genta, the skinny boy was politely waiting for Ran to take her seat.

_Kamen Yaiba again, huh? They must be talking about the new movie that they just started filming this month. I'd better not ask… They seem pretty busy as it is… I don't think I could keep up with them anyway. Though, I wonder what they were talking about with such serious looks earlier. Must've been one of the cases Shinichi mentioned earlier. Ah, well… probably nothing that they should've been talking about at the table anyway. I'd better not bring that up either then._

Once Ran was settled, everyone besides Genta announced, "_itadakimasu_!" and delved into their respective meals.

* * *

Ran checked her watch after she got off the bus in front of Beika General Hospital. It showed that it was almost six o'clock. The sun was already setting and the sky was a dull violet-blue color besides the faint yellow glow from the west that shone from behind the various buildings.

Earlier that evening after an exciting day at the park and departing with the Detective Boys, Ran stopped by her home—the third floor apartment above the Mouri Detective Agency office and Café Poirot on the first floor. There, she had cooked something quick for her father and herself, taken a shower, and changed clothes. Despite her father's—detective Mouri Kogorou—complaints that his daughter shouldn't be out late just to visit that 'troublesome, good-for-nothing detective boy' when she could just wait until the morning, a can of beer and a reminder that a two-hour Yoko Okino special was on that night was all it took for Ran to get her father to give it a rest. Eventually she caught a bus to head back to the hospital—the bus she had just departed.

The last few weeks had been such a roller coaster of emotions and stress, so today had felt like the first time she could stand on stolid ground and take a deep breath. Though, during Sonoko's phone call earlier that day, Ran had unintentionally thought about all the hardships that she had been trying to put behind her.

When Ran had become aware of _the_ truth, she had taken a good, long time to clear her head and come to terms with… _everything_. She supposed that if she hadn't been so convinced from all the suspicions she had about Conan himself, Hattori's slip ups, Masumi's subtle—or really not so subtle—hints and suggestions, among other reasons, that learning the truth might have hurt even worse. It would have hurt worse for _both_ of them, if in the end she hadn't forgiven him. Because, to her regret, for awhile that's exactly what they both thought had happened.

_But everything's all right now. Everything is going to be all right, _Ran thought with a smile, in attempt to return to being the optimistic person she was at heart.

* * *

Ran was relieved that she didn't get back to the hospital a minute later, since she still needed to check-in as an overnight guest before the receptionists went home for the evening. She hefted her bag over her shoulder and hurried inside.

Ran made her way over to the visitor service desk where she saw a female receptionist that she recognized from a few of her past visits to Beika General—which included the one from the night before. The lady must have remembered Ran as well since she greeted her warmly and asked if she was staying with her boyfriend again tonight. Ran of course blushed furiously at the "boyfriend" comment but regardless, she still was able to stammer out a vague affirmative to which the receptionist only smiled and nodded knowingly. After a few minutes of idle chatter—and another teasing comment causing Ran to feel slightly embarrassment again—the receptionist said she had to get ready to leave, so they said good night and Ran headed off to the elevator with her visitor's pass.

The halls were relatively empty and quiet as the hospital's clinic hours were over and all the outpatients had already left. There were a few nurses and even fewer doctors that Ran noticed walking along the hall on same floor that Shinichi's room was on. The hall lights were still on for now, but Ran knew from previous night's stay that after nine o'clock, most of the lights would be turned off in most sections of the hospital and dimmed in the halls for the inpatient's rooms.

It didn't take too long to make it to Shinichi's room. She knocked lightly on the door and when she didn't hear a reply from inside she assumed he was alone and most likely sleeping. In a whisper, she announced her entrance out of habit and gently opened the door.

With the lights turned off the room was considerably dark. Besides the light from the hallway, some light from the city surrounding the hospital shone through the window curtains. For the most part, it was silent in the room, and Ran could tell that Shinichi was asleep. She placed her bag on the floor in the corner near the folded up cot that she had borrowed the night before. Since Shinichi was still sleeping and she didn't want to disturb him, Ran considered going to the vending machine at the end of the hall to get a cup of tea and then find a couch to sit and read on.

Just as she was about to turn around and head back into the hall, she heard the faint rustling sound of bed sheets. She glanced back to his bed and noticed the sleeping teen starting to shift restlessly under the blanket. Reconsidering leaving, Ran shut the door quietly behind her and made her way over to the bedside.

Watching Shinichi shift uneasily in his sleep raised the girl's concern. She wasn't sure if he was in pain or dreaming, but either way she debated on whether she should try to wake him. Without the room light on she couldn't see very well but when she placed a hand on his upper arm she could feel how warm he was even through the sleeve of his hospital _jinbei_. When she moved her hand down to feel his exposed forearm, she was shocked at how hot and damp his skin really was. She then moved to feel his forehead too. _He's burning up! This is not good! I have to wake him._

He continued to toss and turn in his sleep. Besides him burning up, Ran was worried that he would cause himself more pain by agitating his wound through his distressed movements. No longer in debate about whether to wake him or not, she began to shake him by the shoulders, trying to be gentle yet still forceful enough to bring him out of unconsciousness. _Shinichi… something's definitely wrong… Please, you have to wake up._

"Shinichi?" She raised her voice to almost normal speaking level, hoping it was loud enough to wake him without frightening him. Her first attempt didn't seem to work, so she shook him somewhat harder and called him again a bit more loudly. She was starting to panic. Nothing she was doing was waking him. She could only keep crying, "Shinichi, wake up! Shinichi… Shinichi?!"

* * *

AN: (Author's Novel?)

Firstly, a big thanks to everyone who has followed this story and/or added it to their favorites, and especially to those who reviewed! I'm glad to see people giving some love to the DBs.

As for Genta's reference last chapter, it was from OVA 10: Kid in Trap Island. Hope you either got it or will go watch it if you haven't. :) And Shinichi didn't intend to be harsh with Haibara. He was just being a cranky _ba'rou_. We'll have to see if the last two years have made much difference on his character. _Ba'rou _and_ baka_ are both shortened version of the word _bakayarou_ and as far as I can tell the former seems to be a 'cooler' or 'rougher' way of saying it. Kaito also says it sometimes, but I don't know if this is that common of a way to say it outside these two characters.

As for this chapter:

I spent most of this chapter on, well… nothing that was even in this chapter! I ended up pushing the big treasure hunt to next chapter and probably even the one after it too. I'm trying to establish more references to what's happened in the recent past and to start developing the character relations. And what's to come after this cliffhanger ending was originally intended for this chapter too. XDD

Also, I hope there isn't a rule saying that the main character needs to be in every chapter… 'cause it looks like I'd have broken that rule already, unless you count a sleeping Shinichi? No? Me neither… Well, I hope I didn't disappoint anyone because of that. DX And I guess this chapter turned into a big, mushy ShinRan lump since Ran had like no role last chapter. But don't worry, the Detective Boys are definitely going to be the stars in this. It's just that even though this is mostly going to revolve around them and Shinichi, I really want to bring in more of the cast.

I really hope my attempts at humor weren't _too_ horrible and fit somewhat appropriately… if so, please forgive me, ehehe… ^.^; About Ayumi's parents, I probably made them, mostly her mom, a _little_ OOC honestly, but what the heck do we even know about them really?

ANYWAYS, if anyone is curious, this is the reference I had for when I was describing the little red dress, though of course I took some artistic liberties (Plus the girl is pretty and I'll just think of her as Ran, especially considering the live-action actress doesn't look much like Ran either IMO. Freakin' anime hair, gotta love it but gotta hate it too. XD): **images. hotdeals. vn/images/18-07-2013/31034_body_2 .jpg (remove spaces of course)**

Hopefully next chapter will start some real mystery solving and this story will pick up the pace a little bit. Let me know what you think though and if you have any sort of speculation or questions! :D Annnd I'm finally shutting up now. ;)


	3. Roleplaying a Criminal Mastermind

**Chapter 3: Roleplaying a Criminal Mastermind  
**

* * *

"Shinichi?" He could hear the rising intonation in the way Ran said his named that spoke of her concern. But her voice sounded so distant, and there was something else that was unusual, yet familiar, about the way the sound carried to his ear. _As if it were…_

He soon noticed that he was holding his cell phone to his ear and that Ran's voice had only come through the phone—she wasn't actually there with him. In his other hand he was holding Conan's voice-changing bow tie in front of his mouth. _Why would I need…? _ Despite not remembering how he got to wherever he was currently, he found himself to be jogging down an empty sidewalk. Even the street was completely barren and the surroundings seemed to be cast in a thick fog. Or perhaps it was not so much a fog but that everything gradually faded away the further it was from him. _Have I been here before?_

"Ran," he said as he caught his breath. "Please, I need you to listen very carefully to me…" his voice urged, despite him not meaning to say anything at all. Instead, he was trying to figure out where he was and what was going on. Something about this scenario seemed vividly familiar though. _And haven't I said those same…? _

Before he had a chance to answer his many questions, a mechanical, roaring sound broke his concentration. Out of the fog, a speeding motorcycle and its rider swerved and skidded to a stop right in front of him. He yelped and almost tripped backwards in surprise. The rider lifted the visor of his helmet, and a dark-skinned face became visible. The person's intense, green eyes locked onto his, and his thick eyebrows knitted in anxiety.

"C'mon Kudou! I told'ya, _They're_ already anticipatin' us at the airport and the _Shinkansen_ station. If we take my bike to get to the safe house, we can slip passed 'em unnoticed. But we hafta go _now_!" Hattori Heiji shouted as he tossed his friend the spare helmet. He stumbled with the object for a second and looked at it in confusion, wondering what happened to the phone and bowtie he had been holding a moment before. "'They,' 'airport,' _'Shinkansen_,'"—those three words struck him immediately and adrenaline began to rush through his veins as he realized why Heiji looked so nervous and spoke so fiercely.

But, when he looked back up however, it wasn't his teenaged friend who was in front of him, but a ticked off looking Genta with his arms crossed, who then leaned over, coming uncomfortably close to his face. He glanced back down to his hands and saw that it wasn't a helmet, but a soccer ball that he held.

"Look, punk. If you're gonna leave for who knows how long, you can at least spend these last days hanging out with your best friends instead of running off every chance you get. Got that?" The much larger boy ordered, still looming over him. _Since when was Genta…_ On either side of the boy, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko stood watching him. Their determined looks were only tarnished by how glossy their eyes appeared as they both tried not to cry. Actually, if he was right Ayumi must have been crying for quite awhile already. Her cheeks were rosy and moist from the tears she had already shed and she couldn't help sniffling every few seconds. _Wait, this has already—_

Without waiting for an answer Genta took the ball from his limp hands, grabbed his arm, and began to pull him along. He squawked ungracefully at the unexpected force. Mitsuhiko then joined in and pushed him from behind and added to Genta's speech, "And even if a case comes up, you'll promise we can come too, right? _Together_ we're Detective Boys, after all." To that he only nodded in agreement. Ayumi grabbed his free hand as she ran along beside him as well.

The four of them romped down the sidewalk, eventually turning a corner and apparently entering Beika Park. Without having any idea what time it was, he could only think that it reminded him of an early morning with how dim and foggy it was there, not to mention that the park was completely void of other people as well. Genta finally let go of the arm that he'd been pulling, dropped the ball from under his own arm to the grass, and kicked it as hard as he could. The two young boys took off chasing the ball, cheering and laughing the whole way.

Ayumi, who was still holding his hand, lingered behind, wanting a moment to speak to him alone. "Um… I just wanted to say… even if you're moving _reeeally_ far away and never come back I want tell you that…" The girl's speech became almost a whisper at the end, but suddenly she burst out, practically slurring her words together, "I want to you to know that I'll love you forever!" She chastely kissed him on the cheek as he turned to stare at her in shock. It appeared that she was doing her best to pretend to be happy, but her eyes were still glossy and her smile seemed to be forced. Before he could react yet again, she took off to catch up with her other friends. All three called out to him to hurry up but as they got further away they eventually faded out of sight into the fog.

"Shinichi?!" Ran's voice called again. It was even fainter than before. He spun in place, looking around wildly in search of the girl. "Shinichi? Shinichi?" He looked down and saw that, again, he was holding his cell phone in one hand and the bowtie in another. He lifted the two devices back to his face mechanically. He didn't know why he began to run as he spoke either, but it was not long before he resumed running through the vacant city streets.

"Ran, if you do what I ask, I promise I'll answer your questions later. But for now you have to trus— you have to trust us. It's for your own safety. Please!" Again, his voice pleaded, despite him not consciously intending it to do so. The fear and worry that he almost always pushed away even in the face of murderers twisted in his stomach of its own accord. He was running so strenuously that his breathing became staggered and sweat started pouring down his face. His chest began to constrict uncomfortably as well. He slowed to barely even a walking pace and closed his eyes for just a moment to compose himself. He cursed at how pathetic he was as he proceeded to trip over an uneven part of the sidewalk and fell forward. Although he was able to brace himself with his arms, a sharp pain coursed through his body on the impact and he chocked out a gasp.

Cursing even more harshly out loud, he attempted to get up despite the ache in his midsection. Just as he was about to give up, he felt someone help him to his feet. When he opened his eyes he saw that the white fog must have shifted into a black haze sometime while he had his eyes closed. He could barely see at all now because it was so dark. In spite of that, he could at least make out the figure supporting him.

"Man, when yer not a scrawny shrimp, ya sure are heavy, you know tha'? Fer the one time I gotta be the one haulin' your ass outta a mess, ya think ya coulda at least been compact enough to carry… Hey, ya listenin' to me? Hey, are ya even alive still?"

"Hattori?" the partially conscious boy muttered. His one arm was wrapped somewhat loosely over the shoulder of his companion, while the other was pressing a hastily folded up blazer against his abdomen. _Everything, everything is so familiar. Hasn't this happened before? What's wrong with me? Why does this hurt so much?_

He shut his eyes tightly again while trying to endure the worsening pain. It was also unbearably hot and stuffy inside this place. He could vaguely hear Heiji still talking to him as they began to walk but he couldn't make out what his friend was saying. Squinting, he could tell that they were slowly hobbling down what seemed to be an enclosed corridor. When he had gotten inside was only one of many concerns buzzing in his mind. Before he realized Heiji was no longer at his side, he felt his legs give out from his body's weight. Fortunately, he caught himself enough to land on his knees.

Stubbornly, he attempted to stand once again, only to be stopped by a harsh, "Stay down, you fool!" Before him stood Haibara, in her adult form, though her back was to him. She seemed to be wearing some casual clothing of Ran's, but there was an unusual tightness in the way her shirt fit, which was not because of a difference in their physique. Rather, for him, it was the telltale sign of someone wearing a bulletproof vest. The bulletproof vest that he thought he had forced her to take from him, leaving him defenseless. _She was never supposed to be here! It wasn't supposed to happen like this! She's always made such rash decisions when it comes to—. _

He somehow knew who held the gun although in this black haze he couldn't see the villain. He could easily hear his haunting laughter, however. "Don't! Get out of the way!" he shouted desperately to the girl shielding him. As soon as he yelled, the deafening blast of the gun went off. The unrelenting woman, who thought she would be a martyr, collapsed. It had been dark enough that the villain must not have noticed the lack of blood. Nor had the villain seen him messing with his unique watch. In addition, he himself couldn't see anything anymore because of the now all-engulfing, pitch-black haze. For only a moment the only thing to be heard was the boy's own labored breathing. Breaking the almost silent moment, he could hear rushing footsteps and muffled shouts coming their direction, probably in response to the first gunshot. However, he couldn't make out the voices' owners since the sound of his heartbeat was pounding in his ears. He swore he could hear Ran calling his name, though he couldn't figure out if she was actually there.

Instead, the only thing he heard clearly was a cold-blooded voice. "Now to finish the job, once and for all. Farewell, Mr. Great Detective." And finally the second shot rang throughout the room.

* * *

Shinichi howled as he lurched upright in bed, awaking in agony. The pain from his wound resurfaced as strong as it had been when he had _actually_ been shot—or if he had actually been shot for real again. He hunched over panting, and tried not to move in anyway that would cause him any more pain. After awhile, the sound of his heartbeat in his ears was gradually starting to fade and he thought he heard his name being called. As the thumping receded, he could make out Ran's voice crying to him frantically. This time her voice had to be real. He slowly attempted to open his eyes and glance in her direction.

"Shinichi! Thank goodness you're awake. Are you alright?" Her words were rushed together in concern, yet full of relief. She wiped at her face with her sleeve in an attempt to rid any evidence left behind before the detective noticed.

"Ran?" Shinichi asked a bit shakily. His eyes were unadjusted to the darkness of the room, though he was sure by the sound of her familiar voice he really hadn't needed to ask. After the last throbs ceased, he leaned back against the headboard and breathed in and out deeply to calm his nerves.

"It's me. Are you okay? I should go get a nurse." Ran had been just about to get a nurse but in actuality, she had only been trying to wake Shinichi up for barely even a minute, maybe not even half that, before he had woken up own his own. She turned towards door to head into the hall but a tug on her wrist stopped her. One of Shinichi's still clammy hands was latched firmly, yet gently around it.

"No, no. I'm all right. I, uh, think it was just a bad dream." He took his hand back and rubbed the back of his neck in his usual gesture of unease, and also to massage the stiffness he felt from lying down so long. He didn't particularly want to admit something like that to Ran, but he knew the potential consequences of withholding such from the girl. He was still getting better at not trying to hide his faults and keeping vital information to himself, especially when those close to him just wanted to offer their support.

"Just a bad dream? But you're feverish and soaked in sweat. With all that trashing around you did, you must have opened up the wound. I could see that you were in a lot of pain!" Ran put her hands on her hips, going into her "I-know-what's-best" mode. She leaned in closer saying, "And I don't have to be a detective to know that." She placed her forehead against his and her concerns weren't lessened as she noticed he felt just as feverish as before. She pulled back but as she stared at him, her intense look shifted into one of concern once again. His face had already been so flushed that it was hard to tell if he blushed from the contact, though he did look a bit like a deer caught in the headlights. "I want to know that you're really all right."

"Ran… But I feel—" unexpectedly, a sudden pulsing sensation convulsed his body again, causing Ran to yelp and jump back in surprise. This time the pain was coming from everywhere, not just his wound. He felt heat spilling off every inch of his skin. A second pulse wracked at his body and he couldn't help the gasp of pain that he choked out. His heart beat vigorously in his chest, as if it were about to erupt. _This… this… i-it can't be! It's impossible! K-Kuso! This can't be for real! R-Ran!_

"Shinichi?! I'm getting the nurse!" Ran announced her intention with resolution and turned again to run into the hall. To her annoyance she was stopped for a second time as Shinichi desperately latched onto her forearm, not so gently this time. Ran knew she could get him off, being a black belt in karate after all; however, the fear and desperation in his expression scared her even more and prevented her from struggling to get free and get help.

"Don't! If I—Can't let anyone see… Please, you can't. Just…" the detective muttered in between gasps of breath. He held roughly onto her arm with one hand, while his other grasped at the front of his robe over his heart, pulling the cloth into a tight bunch.

Ran stared at him. Her eyes widened in disbelief and horror as the realization of his conditioned dawned on her. "N-No! That's impossible! I-Isn't it?!" she shrilled.

"I don't know!" he groaned in response as he sunk further down from his sitting position to lie flatly on the mattress. "This can't be—" Barely even feeling the stress from his wound with the overarching pain, he shift onto his side to muffle his cries into the pillow. _Why?! I don't understand! I just finally got back, and it's all going to be taken away from me again. Every time… _As a third pulse hit him, he screamed into the pillow one last time before the pain finally began to dissolve into numbness.

Even though she felt like crying, Ran instead fumbled with Shinichi's phone—which had been on the nightstand right next to her—not worrying about digging her own out of her handbag. She went through his recent contacts, seeing Professor Agasa's phone number right at the top of the list, and started the call. If she were in the right state of mind to think about it, she might've been able to recall the number on her own otherwise.

_"Hello? Shinichi? Doing all right, my boy?"_ he elderly man inquired cheerily after answering the call.

"Professor! It's Ran. Shinichi, he's… I need to talk to Ai-chan!" Ran stumbled with her explanation, as she still was uncertain herself.

* * *

"I see… I'll get her right away." Agasa said becoming somber as he promptly made his way out of the engineering lab—almost knocking over some fragile bits of machinery in the rush—and through the rest of the house to Haibara's bedroom. He called to the girl and even knocked on the door but when she didn't answer he became concerned. "Ai-kun?" he called out a few times, loud enough so that she might hear him, since she should have been in the house _somewhere_. He scrambled back into the living room and then to the kitchen, still unable to find the girl.

"I'm in my lab, professor," she called back from downstairs in the basement laboratory. He wondered why in the world she'd need to be down there. After all, weren't her experimentations to find the apoptoxin antidote finally over and done with? When he stepped inside the lab he relayed Ran's message. At Haibara's suggestion, he turned the phone on speaker mode so they could all discuss the situation.

* * *

Ran was about to fully explain what she knew happened when she noticed the boy stir. After everything was over, he had fallen unconscious, though apparently he did not stay that way for very long.

"S-Shinichi?" she whispered tentatively, lowering the phone from her ear.

"Ran?" he mumbled in response for the second time as his mind began to clear. He slowly pushed himself up though his body felt so exhausted from the ordeal that he was tempted to just go back to sleep and deal with the consequences in the morning. After all, he didn't want to deal with being Cona—wait… He threw the covers off of himself and stared in amazement at his un-shrunken, fully-grown—as fully-grown as an eighteen year old was supposed to be—, _real_ body. The young man laughed a few times and pulled at his cheek thinking he _must_ have been dreaming again. When it came to… strangeness regarding the antidote, he was always wary that he was just having vivid hallucinations again. Convinced that he wasn't dreaming, hallucinating, or otherwise, he noticed that Ran was again watching him with an expression mixed with concern and relief.

Shinichi also realized that she was on the phone with someone. After limiting the options, the detective deduced the most reasonable person for her to call. "Ran, I'd like to speak with Haibara," he requested, turning completely serious.

Momentarily forgetting that she was holding the phone, Ran nodded automatically before his request registered and she replied, "Ah, r-right. Here." She handed over the phone despite wanting to question him further herself.

"Haibara," Shinichi addressed the listener on the phone. "What the hell just happened to me? I thought I was going to… to shrink into Conan again!" his voice rose at the dread of the thought. "I obviously didn't, but it damn well felt like it!" The distressed detective barely held back from shouting into the device. He had previously decided that he should at least make amends to the girl, since he'd already vilified her earlier in the day, but only _after_ he could get a night's rest and use the next day to mull over the best way to go about it—_but_ at the moment he was feeling anything except apologetic: fearful, angry, exhausted, and confused, just to describe a simple few.

Haibara sighed deeply, not in response to the detective's reaction, but because of her own misgivings. "Kudou-kun, I need you to calm down. I need you to be thinking intelligently while I explain my hypothesis."

Shinichi seethed silently, biting back a retort to the scientist's usual aloofness. He knew better than to react so irrationally since it would only make the discussion unnecessarily heated. If the girl had answers, he needed a clear head to fully comprehend the situation. He glanced to Ran and saw that, while she looked just as frightened and confused as he felt, the kind-hearted girl also directed a hint of crossness at him, which he supposed was because of his bitter tone toward Haibara. Shinichi recalled their conversation earlier and again had to admit that he was _again_ blaming Haibara even though nothing was her fault. "Yeah, yeah, I'm calm," he conceded.

Ran, hoping Shinichi would let her listen in, pushed the chair by his bed even closer and dropped herself down into its support a bit shakily. Despite the risk of a nurse walking in or even just someone overhearing the conversation, Shinichi switched the phone to speaker mode and slightly lowered the volume. The two teens listened intently as Haibara then proceeding to answer Shinichi's questions.

— — —

It was fairly late by time the phone call had ended and the two teenagers in the room had fallen into silence having nothing left to deliberate about what the scientist had stoically explained. The matter was still swimming through their minds despite how tired they both felt by that point. It was even their last thoughts as they both eventually drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Shinichi and Ran awoke to a snapping sound and a girly giggle. Shinichi quickly shifted to full alertness, as he had been prone to do many mornings while in an unfamiliar place. The detective, noticing two figures in the room, slid his arm off from Ran's shoulders and then pushed himself up carefully. Ran, still half-asleep, found herself sitting upright in the chair besides Shinichi's bed as she had unintentionally fallen asleep lying draped over the edge of the mattress.

Though alert for the most part, Shinichi's still groggy state of awareness dulled his thoughts. "M-Mom? What are you and Dad doing here?" Shinichi blurted out without thinking.

In response to such an unfriendly welcome, Kudou Yukiko pouted and whimpered childishly. "Waah, we flew all the way from one of our super, secret hideouts to make sure Shin-chan was all right, and our darling son isn't even happy to see us Yuu-chan!"

Kudou Yuusaku made no response to his wife, knowing better than to feed into such immature behavior—especially not being fond of her nickname for him. He was instead focused on his son. "I'm glad to see you're still in one piece, Shinichi." He grinned slightly to mask what concern he actually felt. "We arrived in Tokyo yesterday evening. However, by the time we made it home, it was much too late to come visit. Of course, your mother made sure that we left home first thing in the morning to get here as soon as the hospital doors opened."

"_'Taku_. You guys never bother calling when you plan to come back home," the teen complained and rolled his eyes. Though, his neutral expression shifted almost unnoticeably into a small smile when he actually realized that he was glad to see his parents, even if they did get on his nerves once and awhile. He wouldn't admit anything he was thinking out loud though of course.

As much as they had forced themselves into helping with the Operation, Shinichi's parents had known when it was best to retreat and assist from afar even if they were quite reluctant to do so. But of course that hadn't stopped them from frequently country hopping. Despite never knowing where his parents were at any given time without being informed, Shinichi concluded that, in the end, it must have worked out in their favor since they were never found. He supposed that even with the Organization's vast resources, trying to find the Kudous had been a wild-goose chase. Shinichi was amused by the thought that all of running and hiding his father did from his editors was merely practice for the more deadly pursuit.

While he was musing, Yukiko had sashayed her way over to the bed and gently, yet tightly embraced her son around his shoulders from the side. Shinichi squawked in surprise even though he should have been used to his mother's clinginess or at least expected as much. "That's because we wanted to surprise you! I didn't expect you to be sleeping so soundly when we arrived. I was able to get the cutest pho— I mean you were two were so cute sleeping!"

The suspicious detective knew his mother was about to say something else before she cut herself off. _What did she do this time_, he questioned to himself as he analyzed her carefully. She was usually very good at hiding her guilt since she used to be an actress and although she was beaming at him, he could tell by the way she blinked more often than usual meant she was definitely concealing _something_. He was only slightly worried though so he gave up soon enough, thinking that whatever it was, he probably didn't want to know.

— — —

The four talked for a while, covering various topics—none of which were related to the Operation because of an unspoken agreement that there was no need to worry about such a serious subject so early in the morning. Yukiko mostly went on about all the spectacular places they had visited and all the interesting people they had met during their travels. Somewhat uncharacteristically, she asked completely unnecessary questions about her son's well-being and such—things that a more overbearing mother might ask to which he responded by either answering vaguely or cleverly misdirecting her questioning by commenting on something else. At one point she had even convinced Ran to join her for a girls' day out for later that day. When Yuusaku got a word in, he asked more specifically about their mutual police acquaintances like Inspector Megure and then asked Ran about her parents. Yukiko also moved on to inquiring about all of their other friends and acquaintances.

"And how about those adorable little grade-schooler friends of yours, Shin-chan?" his mother eventually asked.

"Those guys…" he began to reply before he remembered what he'd promised the day before. "Crap! I told them to come back today for that treasure hunt! I haven't even come up with anything yet! I completely forgot, especially after last night—" he stopped mid-sentence. Yukiko was giving him a confused looked, obviously not following. Yuusaku on the other hand narrowed his eyes as he considered the numerous implications of what his son blurted out at the end of his outburst.

The only one who knew what the young man was referring to was Ran since she had been there yesterday. She asked, "What time are they coming?"

"Er, I don't know. Professor Agasa said he'd bring them over whenever they decided to show up at his house today…" Shinichi grabbed the remote from the nightstand and turned on the small television in the corner of the room near the ceiling. He flipped through a few news channels before stopping at the first one that displayed the local weather forecast. When the forecast was over and the news came back on, he switched the television back off although he would usually want to watch it. "Damn, they're going to be here by noon at the latest. I hope that's enough time to come up with something…" he rambled on to himself as he began digging through the drawer on the nightstand, and not bothering to explain how he figured out when they would arrive. Not finding what he was looking for, he turned back to the others in the room—specifically Ran. "Ran, I need you to ask a nurse if I can get some paper and a pen or pencil. Also, if they can get some kind of brochure with the layout of the hospital or something of the sort. Oh, and maybe if the have a some kind of tape."

The girl sat back in the chair and crossed her arms. She scowled at him but didn't say anything. It took a moment for Shinichi to get a hint about why she looked displeased with him. "Aheh, I mean… Can you please ask a nurse for me?" He smiled broadly at her as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.

Her glare turned into a smirk and she uncrossed her arms before standing up and bending over so she was close to his face. "Alright, only because you asked so nicely." Ran then excused herself politely to his parents and left the room, closing the door back behind her.

"So what's this about a treasure hunt? It sounds exciting!" With curiosity prodding her, Yukiko finally asked now that her son was less frantic. Yuusaku, being a mystery writer and a skilled detective himself if not by trade, was also fairly interested in what Shinichi had in store for the children.

Shinichi chuckled, recalling the children's visit the day before. To his parents, he summarized the visit itself, elaborating on the promises he made to the Detective Boys and how he planned to test them with the treasure hunt to see how well they could solve a puzzle on their own. "Those kids sometimes found clues even before I did while investigating. There were a couple of times when they really pulled through on their own when I couldn't help them. But yesterday, I could tell they felt discouraged without Conan around anymore. I think this will give them a chance to figure out that if they try their best, they can still be the Detective Boys without him." After he finished speaking, he realized how embarrassing it was to admit that when he saw his mother beaming at him. He turned his face away to avoid her gaze.

Because of that he didn't even notice when she leaned over until she pinched his cheek. "That is just _so_ sweet of my little— ah I mean _big,_ Shin-chan!" she teased him. "Those kids are going to be your little apprentices, huh?" Yukiko couldn't help giggling like a little girl again.

"Ow, ow, ow. Quit that already!" he yelped, and tried to swat her away. When she did so, he rubbed the sore cheek, grumbling to himself, and gave her a sullen frown.

Even Yuusaku was amused and couldn't help but smile. He was also a bit surprised at how much his son seemed to care for those children although the man never met them before himself. From what Shinichi had said about them, they seemed like up and coming detectives and he was slightly curious about how much potential they actually had. The mystery writer smirked as he wondered if he should stick around and see for himself once they arrived.

— — —

After a few minutes, Ran returned with the requested items and handed them to Shinichi. With a curt, "thanks" he started looking over the hospital directory from the pamphlet and jotting down ideas as they came to him. He seemed so focused on the task at hand that the other three didn't think it wise to disturb him and interrupt his train of thought.

Easily becoming bored, Yukiko turned to her son's sweetheart. "Ran-chan, how about we get an early start to our girls' day out? Some shopping in Shibuya sounds just wonderful, don't you think?" she asked with a tilt of her head and an eager smile.

"Ah, sure—" The girl was about to agree when she remember something important. "But I want to stop by to see my friend Masumi-chan first. She was injured the same day as Shinichi and is here in the hospital too," Ran mentioned vaguely, not wanting to discuss the events of that particular day more than she needed. "I wanted to visit her yesterday but, uh… I got a little distracted and forgot until just now." She kept her gaze away from the Kudou couple, not wanting to get questioned and have to elaborate. She shot Shinichi an uneasy glance for a second before thinking better, knowing Yuusaku's keen observation skills.

The name struck Yuusaku as familiar but without her surname, he wasn't sure if the girl Ran mentioned was whom he was thinking of. He didn't miss Ran's quick glance towards his son, but didn't comment sensing their hesitance to talk about whatever else had happened the day before.

Yukiko however didn't seem to make any sort of connection regarding the name. "Hmm? Is that so? It wouldn't be imposing if I came with you, would it? I'd love to meet your friend and Shin-chan seems hard at work. Yuusaku can keep him company."

"That's fine, I'm sure she wouldn't mind." At that, the two said their goodbyes and "we'll be back later" and took their leave.

— — —

While Shinichi was busy formulating ideas for his treasure map, Yuusaku stepped out in the hall to take a phone call from one of his editors—since he had already put off about two-dozen or so that week. It was over ten minutes later when the call ended and he headed back to the room to see how his son was making out. A nurse, who appeared to be slightly older than himself, was leaving his son's room having just finished a check-up and she bowed politely as she passed him at the doorway. When he stepped inside, he noticed Shinichi leaning back with his arms up and behind his head and his pen balanced between his nose and his lip. He knew from that particular posture that Shinichi was still thinking intently, but was probably stumped. The nurse's visit had most likely broken his concentration in addition.

The young detective let the pen fall from his face to speak with his father when the man came back into the room. He grumbled, "_'Taku_, I feel like I'm one of those psychopath bombers or other kinds of criminals who leave behind riddles for the police to figure out… Putting the puzzle together is so much easier than making one from scratch." He had papers with disorderly notes and doodles written on them spread out all over the bed. To someone who didn't know better, it would have seemed like he knew what he was doing and had plenty of ideas, but apparently that wasn't the case.

Being a mystery novelist, Yuusaku understood how to think from—or at least imagine—the perspectives of both a criminal and a detective. He considered his son's predicament and quoted something that came to mind, which related to the problem at hand. "'A criminal mastermind is a creative artist who takes his prey in style... But a detective is nothing more than a critic, who follows our footsteps…' The firs—" he was about to continue on with some advice but Shinichi interrupted.

"Wait… Repeat what you just said…" the boy requested and furrowed his brows. His father did as he asked. For a moment, Shinichi was wracking his brain as he tried to remember where he heard that quote before. "Damnit, it's not coming to me…" he mumbled to himself. "Dad, did you hear that quote from somewhere?" he asked thinking that the answer might help him figure it out.

"On the contrary. It was a quote of my own." Yuusaku raised an eyebrow, wondering why his son was so curious. "Or perhaps I should say the Night Baron's. I wrote that line in my very first draft of the debut novel. The line never actually made it into the book however, for whatever reasons," the writer explained, although he knew the exact reason why he never included that line, despite withholding it from his son.

Shinichi scrutinized his father's words, not expecting such a response. Although he admitted to not even being much of a fan of series, he had read each book and could confidently say that the line was truly not in any of them. Either way, he was fairly sure he hadn't _read_ the quote; instead he vaguely remembered it being spoken to him. "Did someone else read that draft?" he prodded further.

If Yuusaku's suspicions had any grounds, he was wary of how much Shinichi actually knew or what he could piece together on his own. He chose his next words carefully, though he could tell his son had already dug further than he should have. "Even my editors never read that earliest draft. I ended up doing the first rewrite on my own. However, I actually lent a copy of the draft to an old acquaintance of mine but sadly, he passed away soon afterwards and it must have ended up being misplaced."

Again, the younger detective closely examined the second part of his father's answer. _Who said it? When did they say it? Where did I hear it?! _Shinichi repeated the quote multiple times in his head before he realized that there was something wrong with it. "_A _thief_ is a creative artist…"_ _that's how I heard it said before! A thief… _Finally, the memory resurfaced and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"I think I'm missing the humor in this," Yuusaku commented when his son eventually calmed down.

"Heh, I just realized that someone I know isn't as 'creative' as he thinks he is…" he said keeping his explanation rather vague. _It kind of makes sense to think _that guy_ is a fan of my old man's work. I wonder how—_

The detective would have started thinking in all sorts of circles about the implications of what his father revealed but his train of thought was interrupted as the door to the room flung open.

"_Hora!_ What's the deal, Kudou-kun?! Your girl can come visit me, but you can't do the same? I thought we were friends too?" A somewhat androgynous looking young woman who was best known to _most_ people as Sera Masumi, and who was the first to come through the door—and who, incidentally, was rolling in on a wheelchair—gripped and pointed at the startled boy accusingly. Ran and Yukiko, who apparently decided to escort the female private eye to the other detective's room before heading out, made their way inside behind the boisterous girl.

_Oh great… Just whom I wanted to see… _Shinichi internally groaned and emitted a few curt, cynical laughs. "It's good to see you're doing well. Already getting around too?" Misdirecting her interrogation seemed like the safest option.

"Yeah, lucky aren't I? Bet you're miserable stuck in bed still, eh?" she boasted while wheeling further into the room.

"But Masumi-chan, you said—" Ran started to say, coming to a stop just behind the temporarily handicapped girl.

"_Anyway_, Ran-chan told me all about some treasure map you were making for those kid friends of yours. It sounded interesting, so I thought I'd come see what it's all about for myself." She leaned forward in her wheelchair next to Shinichi's bed to take a good look at the mess of papers covering his bed. She did indeed look curious and picked up a few sheets with writing all over them without asking for permission.

"So you're saying that you were just bored and wanted something to do?" Shinichi retorted, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Ooh? Are you a detective or something?" She sniggered and when she smiled, her one tooth stuck out over her lip a little. "So, what's the treasure?" Masumi asked, actually trying to find out about the treasure hunt.

"The treasure…? Ah, crap! I didn't get to that part yet!" He cursed at himself for not figuring out the most essential part to begin with. "What the heck would be a good treasure anyway…" Considering, as Conan, he learned almost everything there was to know about the kids, it shouldn't have been such a difficult task to come up with something or other. No one else in the room knew the Detective Boys to the same extent as he did. Nonetheless, Shinichi looked back and forth between the two girls with an uncertain expression as if asking for their input, seeing as they at least knew the children somewhat as well.

While they all mulled over what the children liked and what would make an appropriate prize, Yukiko suddenly made a triumphant exclamation, which startled them out of their thoughts. "Shin-chan, I have a suggestion!" His mother proceeded to at first explain some seemingly unrelated story about the previous night when she bumped into an old make-up artist friend—whom she knew from back in her acting days—while she and Yuusaku had gone out to a fancy restaurant after their flight. She went on for a unnecessary amount of time about the chance meeting, how they knew each other, what the lady was up to nowadays, and what movies she had recently worked on and ones in which she was currently part of the staff. When her son told her to get to the point already, she finally described the suggestion that her rambling was leading up to.

"That's perfect!" Shinichi shouted.

"They'd love that!" Ran cheered simultaneously.

Yukiko hummed proudly, folding her hands flat besides her cheek. "Just as I thought! It's so wonderful having such connections, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah. You're the best…" Shinichi praised, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, are you able to get what you mentioned today? It would be kinda lame if I had to tell those guys, 'sorry, come back tomorrow for the treasure' if— I mean when they get to the end." He cringed as he imagined what their disgruntled reactions would be like if he ended up resorting to something along those lines.

"Hmm… I'll have to get back to you on that…" She made a whining noise and went on, "Drat, this is going to cut into all the things I planned for my date with Ran-chan." She winked at the blushing girl, and then giggled when she saw her son's flabbergasted expression in reaction—he was much more handsome than the gaping fish he appeared to be imitating though, she thought. Yukiko dug out her phone from her purse and then slipped her arm around one of Ran's own and tugged the girl in the direction of the door. Ran stumbled for a couple steps before her regaining her footing, as she was not expecting to be dragged across the room so abruptly. Yukiko waved her phone in the air as they made their way to the door, and with her back facing the room, she chimed, "When I find out, I'll give you a call! Good luck and have fun~!" At the door she turned back around to address to her son's friend—her own new acquaintance. "Oh, by the way, it was nice meeting you Masumi-chan. Maybe next time you can join us!"

The mentioned girl blinked a few times in surprise but then nodded with a snaggletoothed smirk, and made a motion as if tipping a hat although she wasn't currently wearing her trademark fedora. "Yes, ma'am," she said as a goodbye.

"Uh, bye then, I guess! Nice seeing you again, Yuusaku-san!" Ran called out as she staggered forward from being forcibly pulled along. The door clicked shut behind the two women just as she finished saying the man's name.

— — —

Without any other distractions, Masumi was finally able greet Kudou Yuusaku properly, so she turned her wheelchair around to face the man. "So, you must be Kudou-kun's dad? I'm a big fan of yours; I started reading the Night Baron series when I was a kid. It's really awesome to meet'cha!" She then introduced herself by name.

Yuusaku's eyes widened slightly as he was somewhat surprised that his earlier speculation was correct. Taking one hand out of his pant's pockets, he lifted it to his chin—much like Shinichi would do, except the son had actually picked up the habit from the father. He more carefully observed the girl before him, the lenses of his glasses catching a glare from the ceiling lights. "I see. You really are the same tomboyish girl from back then. I wasn't certain, considering you look much different than you did at that age. I suppose it _has_ been twelve years since then."

"Oh? I thought I had been the only one who remembered." She replied, glancing over to Shinichi and raising an eyebrow. Yuusaku followed her gaze in curiosity.

"Shut up. Ran didn't remember you either! I knew we'd met before… I just couldn't place when or where right away. You didn't have to be so covert about everything in the first place." Shinichi scowled at her for a few seconds before finally returning his attention to the scattered notes surrounding him, and snatched the papers Masumi was still holding from the girl's hands. After that, a quick glance at his watch, which the detective grabbed from the nightstand, showed him that he had wasted quite a bit of time dealing with all these people distracting him.

Masumi snorted at the irony of his response. Was _he_ really one to criticize someone for being "covert" after all? She decided to continue her conversation with the mystery writer after Shinichi went back to work and seemingly began to ignore her. She stuck out her chest, and spoke to Yuusaku once again, being the least bit perturbed. "If you didn't recognize me right away, it was probably because you couldn't even tell that I was a girl when I came in, right? That's alright, I get that a lot. But I'm sure my brea—"

"Do you have to say that _every_ time you meet someone? You've been saying that for two years now. I think you should just give up hope already." Apparently, Shinichi hadn't completely tuned the female detective out and felt the need to interrupt to speak his mind and give her a reality check. After another short round of bantering Shinichi _actually_ went back to work, trying his best to tune out the two remaining in his room.

— — —

The author and girl detective spent awhile conversing, recalling how they all had met in the past, discussing her family, and the lighter topics involving her association with Shinichi. To Shinichi's annoyance, their curiosity, in regards to the treasure map he was contriving, hadn't been abated. When they inquired if he was making any headway, he grumbled that he was doing just fine. However, when Masumi asked to see what he'd come up with so far, he rudely denied her request.

"Geez, you don't have to be like that. If you're stuck, you can ask for help, you know?" Masumi grumped in return, realizing that her friend was just being stubborn and didn't want to admit that he was at a standstill. She had noticed him frequently checking the time and deduced that he must not have had much longer before the children arrived. If Shinichi didn't hurry up those kids would get here and he wouldn't even have anything to give them.

She expected him to sneer in response and was surprised when he appeared to be seriously considering her offer. Him chewing on the end of his pen and his wide eyes and lowered brows indicated an internal debate. He reluctantly looked up at Masumi with that same expression and after a moment even shifted his head towards his father as well.

"Oh? I never would have imagined you turning to me for help. I'm confident that you can figure this out on your own." Yuusaku said in response to his son's unvoiced appeal.

Shinichi glowered at him for a few seconds before deciding that he didn't need his father's help anyway. He disliked being one-upped by his old man more than often and was determined to be the best detective. Just because he had always only been a puzzle solver, didn't mean he couldn't make one himself. That however didn't stop him from giving in and accepting Masumi's help since his time was quickly ticking away.

— — —

The great detective had at some point messaged Haibara asking her to tell them when they were on their way, to which he had just received that notification. With just minutes to spare, Shinichi and Masumi put the finishing touches on the actual treasure map as well as on the supplemental pieces of paper that would be used to guide the Detective Boys on their hunt.

Masumi cheered as she completed her handiwork. In triumph, she showed off by doing a wheelie with her wheelchair, skillfully balancing it on its back wheels while spinning around in a circle.

When an unexpected knock on the door made her start, she almost lost control and toppled over backwards. Luckily she caught herself, and was especially thankful she hadn't fallen over when she saw who had come in—her doctor, a flustered, somewhat elderly man who looked angry yet relieved to have found his run-away patient. After being harshly scolded for leaving her room when she hadn't even been given permission to get out of bed for the restroom without assistance, Masumi unenthusiastically let herself be wheeled out of her friend's room—the whole time scowling and resting her chin in her palm, cursing whoever had ratted her out and in turn led her doctor to find her.

* * *

Yuusaku took his leave shortly afterward in order to take care of the task Shinichi had requested him to do, since his son was still not supposed to be out of bed as well. Despite denying his son's earlier appeal, he had found himself helping as well, just to a lesser extent than his friend. Starting on the first floor, he happened to notice Professor Agasa near the hospital entrance, arriving with—who the mystery writer was certain were—the children of interest. He turned around to make sure they passed by without noticing him, though he could hear three voices chatting enthusiastically and overheard one of the boys complain about the sudden rain showers which had apparently interrupted their soccer rematch at the park. Yuusaku grinned, now understanding his son's earlier unusual behavior. They were gone after a minute, having headed up the elevator. He finally returned to his task, making his way through the building.

It was best that he left before the children arrived anyway, so that they didn't recognize him before they got started on the hunt. If they found out who he was, they might have wanted to turn to him for help but then it wouldn't be much of a test if he guided them… After all, the mystery expert was trying to be discreet while putting the puzzle on the board so that it could be pieced together by the young detectives on their own.

* * *

When the Detective Boys arrived in Shinichi's room, the older detective stalled as long as he thought was necessary for his father to complete the set-up. When he was reluctant to give up the treasure map, knowing the kids would run off immediately, Genta accused him of lying and questioned if there even _was_ a treasure map.

"O-Of course there's a treasure map. Why would I lie about that? Look, it's right here," he stated, pulling out the piece of paper from between the pages of the book Mitsuhiko had giving him the day before, where he had hid the map to keep it safe. He supposed that it had been long enough since his father left to complete, or at least almost complete, his assignment. Not that it mattered, since Genta abruptly plucked the map out of his hands, luckily not ripping the flimsy sheet of paper. Before Shinichi could attempt to reclaim it, the three children were already carefully analyzing the contents.

"Awww! These animals are so cute!" Ayumi prattled in fascination of the drawings on the paper. The treasure map consisted of seven depictions of animals, which included from the right side to the left: a monkey, a crab, a bird, a beetle, an octopus, a snake, and a dog. There was a trail connecting each animal, similar to other treasure maps which showed the physical, or literal, way to the treasure. "I didn't know you could draw so well, Shinichi-oniisan."

Shinichi recalled Masumi criticizing his own horrible drawing skills and then redrawing the whole map herself. It turned out a lot _cuter_ than he'd wanted, but he had to grudgingly admit that it looked a lot better than his attempt. "Ehehe, Actually I asked Se– I mean, uh, _Ran,_ to draw the map for me." He scratched the back of his head, after almost revealing something he didn't mean to. For specific reasons, he needed to keep his assistants' involvement a secret. The detective then briefly explained that Ran had left not that long ago to Ayumi's disappointment, after the girl had asked. "But that's not all there is to the map, take a closer look," he urged, actually feeling a bit excited, wondering how they would figure his riddle out.

Besides the wide variety of names under the animal drawings, the only other writing was the Monkey's speech bubble introduction. "C'mon Mitsuhiko! What's it say already?" Genta bellowed impatiently, knowing that the skinny boy was the best reader out of all the Detective Boys—besides Haibara of course, but she was off to the side by the professor.

"The monkey says, 'I'm **Petey**!' You should… follow… my pace… before you climb?" Mitsuhiko read, relying on the furigana to help understand the reading and meaning of the kanji he didn't know yet. He continued on since that wasn't all it said. "And then… find me and my friends."

"Eh? Is that it?" Genta asked, expecting a better hint. He frowned and attempted to read the text for himself. "Are you sure this means 'pace' here," he asked pointing to the kanji that was read as _'ashimoto_.' Whenever I'm not watching were I'm going, mom always nags me and says, 'not to lose sight of one's own footsteps,'" he said trying to imitate his mother's voice while repeating the quote which included that same word.

Mitsuhiko hummed in contemplation and read over the line once again, this time substituting in the new meaning. "Actually that makes a lot of sense if he's saying to follow his footsteps! But—"

"Hah! Look who figured it out! Who says we need Conan or that Shinichi guy?" bellowed Genta before his friend could continue.

Mitsuhiko gave the larger boy a look that clearly said, 'Are you serious?' He coughed to get Genta's attention and asked, "So where exactly are the footsteps then, Genta-kun?" No longer gloating, Genta looked down at the floor uncertainly to see nothing out of the ordinary, and even Ayumi peaked out into the hall but obviously there was nothing there either. When the girl shook her head to indicate that she didn't notice anything, Genta huffed and frowned in discouragement. Mitsuhiko added, "Plus… We haven't even begun to figure out the rest of the map. Unless, you have been keeping the answer to this puzzle to yourself? Hm?" The skinny boy crossed his arms and bent forward as he put the pressure on the overly confident boy.

At first Genta seemed to have lost his confidence as he stuttered, "U-Uh I just haven't got that far yet." But he became annoyed by the smug look his friend was giving him. It wasn't like Mitsuhiko had solved the whole thing either. Regaining his resolution, Genta mirrored the shorter boy's stance and declared, "Just you wait and see! I'll figure it out in no time!"

While Genta and Mitsuhiko were busy going back and forth, Ayumi finally got a chance to read over the text more carefully herself. Her eyes lit up and a wide smile crossed her face when an idea sparked in her mind. Without even consulting her friends, she snuck over to Shinichi's bed and pulled herself up into the chair so that she was kneeling on it. She motioned for the older boy to lean over closer. Shinichi looked at her in curiosity but did as she silently requested. She then raised her hands around her mouth and whispered in his ear the solution to the riddle she had come up with. When she concluded they leaned away from each other and she returned to speaking normally. "Did I figure it out Shinichi-oniisan?" Ayumi asked, resting her palms on edge of the mattress and watching him in anticipation, still wearing a contented smile.

"Hmm? You want to know? How about you go see for yourselves?" he replied with a shrug without giving a definitive answer. But he smirked, knowing the kids were on the right track.

Ayumi beamed proudly. The girl hopped down from the chair and scampered to her friends. She cheered, "C'mon guys! Let's go find out!" coaxing them to follow.

"Eh?! You solved it and you didn't tell us? Hey! I was supposed to figure it out!" Genta groaned but Ayumi took off out into the hall, so he and Mitsuhiko had to chase after her to learn what she knew. The three real kids stormed out of the room with even Professor Agasa following behind to make sure they didn't cause trouble while roaming around the hospital. On the other hand Haibara took her time in walking to the door.

Before she made it to the doorway, Shinichi called out to her. "Ah, Haibara?" Before he mentioned the most urgent thing on his mind he first brought up another thing he wanted to say. "If I know those kids, they'll probably keep asking you for help and if they seem really stuck, maybe a small hint won't hurt. But for the most part, try to let them solve it for themselves."

Haibara huffed, imagining how obscure the riddle must be, coming from the great detective. Regardless, she had been planning to see how much the children could accomplish on their own in the first place. "Is that all?"

Shinichi leaned over to try to see passed the door more easily to make sure the children weren't just outside. Although just a moment ago he'd been smiling to Ayumi, he now wore a more neutral, or perhaps even concerned expression.

Haibara realized what the boy wanted to discuss so she closed the door so that it was almost shut. "If I try to stay behind Yoshida-san, if not all of them, will want to come back inside and wait for me. When I get the chance, I'll give the children an excuse they'll hopefully accept in order for me to leave them temporarily, and then I'll sneak back here for what I said I would come for last night." The young man didn't make a comment otherwise, but from his expression she could tell that he was anxious and didn't want to wait until later. "Look, Kudou-kun. Even if I get it now, I'm still going to have to stay with Yoshida-san and the others until this quest of theirs is over. I'm not going to be able to do anything else until we leave." She pulled something out of her pocket and reached up to hand it to the teenager. "Here. Just in case, this will hopefully help for the time being. I don't think it will be necessary but it should put your mind to rest."

"Ah, thanks. I shouldn't use it unless it's necessary you're saying?" To that the scientist merely nodded.

The young woman sighed and looked downwards. "Again, I'm sorry for this complication, Kudou-kun."

"You're sorry… again?" The detective felt confused at the scientist's apology. When did she apologize about this before? The last time he could remember her saying sorry was… "Wait, is _this_ what you were saying sorry for yesterday?" he said in disbelief.

"Hm? Of course it was. What else did you think I was sorry for?" she replied and titled her head, feigning puzzlement.

"N-nothing. Never mind," he muttered and looked away so she didn't see him glower at the wall. _Why that little…! _Inside, he felt peeved and silently cursed the girl, taking back his promise to make it up to her for what he'd said yesterday.

When Ayumi popped her head back into the room to see if her friend was coming, Haibara left without another word to the young man, leaving the room empty besides its last remaining occupant.

* * *

AN:

I'm starting my last year of undergrad next week, so I want to apologize ahead of time in case I don't update in awhile. Hopefully I'll be able to do some writing this semester but I'm going to be much busier in the next 4 months. 3-4 weeks between updates probably seems like a long time as it is. Sorry guys!

I'm thinking about working with a **beta reader** who would be helpful in making sure my research is at least somewhat correct, could help with the mystery aspects, and help make sure there are no plot holes, etc. I'm really currently hoping someone might be able to help me with some medical science stuff or at least some kind of knowledge of chemistry/biology stuff. If anyone is interested please let me know!

What's the deal with Shinichi's sudden fit? And any speculation about what Haibara said?

Any guesses to what the treasure is going to be? So far, it should be possible to figure some of the puzzle. More hints will be revealed as the DBs make more progress but if you're up for it, try to solve what you can. The little bit of Japanese on the treasure map is hopefully easy enough to find out, just like some things in English (or otherwise) might need to be looked into. The intro bubble is pretty much thoroughly explained in English so trying to get more hints from the Japanese writing shouldn't really help. I mostly wrote it as a self-exercise and to make it appear as if Shinichi/Masumi actually wrote it. ^.^; (But if there is anything wrong with the Japanese, let me know!)

**I actually drew out the map described in this chapter, you have to check it! The hospital directory will also be a handy reference.**

**Url for the Treasure Map: sta. sh/0ozd02ciwfm**

**Url for the Hospital Directory: ****sta. sh**/02a70tuxsycw

(remove the spaces of course)

If anyone cares to know, "To lose sight of one's own footsteps" in Japanese is: 足元(あしもと)が見(み)えなくなる (ashimoto ga mienakunaru) more literally: The footsteps disappear.

I probably took a lot of liberties with the layout for the hospital. I needed enough to work with so that way everything isn't so obvious at least. If anyone happens to be more knowledgeable about this, please let me know if there is anything really wrong!

Thank you everyone for the continued support and especially to those who have recently followed/faved/reviewed. :D


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